Amish members sentenced to prison in beard-cutting attacks

Amish members sentenced to prison in beard-cutting attacks

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Samuel Mullet

Sam Mullet Sr., 67, was convicted for being the ringleader of five beard- and hair-cutting attacks in Amish communities in northeast and eastern Ohio in 2011. He and 15 members of his extended family were convicted in 2012 for the attacks. Mullet was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Feb. 8, 2013. The other fifteen involved in the attacks were given lesser sentences ranging from one year and one day to seven years in prison. The government said the attacks were retaliation against Amish who had defied or denounced Mullet's authoritarian style. The Amish community believes the Bible instructs women to let their hair grow long and men to grow beards after they marry. The defendants were charged with a hate crime because prosecutors believe religious differences brought about the attacks.

Author: Katie Wiggin

Credit: WKBN/U.S. Attorneys Office, Northern District of Ohio

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