An Amish community faces jail time after being convicted of a hate crime that included cutting off fellow community member’s beards by force. The sixteen men and women were all offered plea deals, which they all declined. Some of the plea deals included little more than probation. Now some of the members might face upwards to 20 years in jail. The crime occurred when the leader of the group forcibly cut the beards in attempt to shame certain members.
“The victims in this case are members of a peaceful and traditional religion who simply wanted to be left to practice their religion in peace,” U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach said. “Unfortunately, the defendants denied them this basic right and they did so in the most violent way.” The founder of the group, Robert Mullet Jr, was not accused of cutting any of the hair, but planning the events that happened. Many of the defendants do not understand why the government is interfering in what they call a church and family dispute. The judge will sentence the defendants on January 6th.
