How a series of violent Amish-on-Amish attacks shattered the peace
of a peace-loving people and led to a new interpretation of the
federal hate crime law. On the night of September 6, 2011, terror
called at the Amish home of the Millers. Answering a late-night
knock from what appeared to be an Amish neighbor, Mrs. Miller
opened the door to her five estranged adult sons, a daughter, and
their spouses. It wasn't a friendly visit. Within moments, the men,
wearing headlamps, had pulled their frightened father out of bed,
pinned him into a chair, and-ignoring his tearful protests-sheared
his hair and beard, leaving him razor-burned and dripping with
blood. The women then turned on Mrs. Miller, yanking her prayer cap
from her head and shredding it before cutting off her waist-long
hair. About twenty minutes later, the attackers fled into the
darkness, taking their parents' hair as a trophy. Four similar
beard-cutting attacks followed, disfiguring nine victims and
generating a tsunami of media coverage. While pundits and
late-night talk shows made light of the attacks and poked fun at
the Amish way of life, FBI investigators gathered evidence about
troubling activities in a maverick Amish community near Bergholz,
Ohio-and the volatile behavior of its leader, Bishop Samuel Mullet.
Ten men and six women from the Bergholz community were arrested and
found guilty a year later of 87 felony charges involving
conspiracy, lying, and obstructing justice. In a precedent-setting
decision, all of the defendants, including Bishop Mullet and his
two ministers, were convicted of federal hate crimes. It was the
first time since the 2009 passage of the Matthew Shepard and James
Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act that assailants had been
found guilty for religiously motivated hate crimes within the same
faith community. Renegade Amish goes behind the scenes to tell the
full story of the Bergholz barbers: the attacks, the investigation,
the trial, and the aftermath. In a riveting narrative reminiscent
of a true crime classic, scholar Donald B. Kraybill weaves a dark
and troubling story in which a series of violent Amish-on-Amish
attacks shattered the peace of these traditionally nonviolent
people, compelling some of them to install locks on their doors and
arm themselves with pepper spray. The country's foremost authority
on Amish society, Kraybill spent six months assisting federal
prosecutors with the case against the Bergholz defendants and
served as an expert witness during the trial. Informed by trial
transcripts and his interviews of ex-Bergholz Amish, relatives of
Bishop Mullet, victims of the attacks, Amish leaders, and the jury
foreman, Renegade Amish delves into the factors that transformed
the Bergholz Amish from a typical Amish community into one
embracing revenge and retaliation. Kraybill gives voice to the
terror and pain experienced by the victims, along with the deep
shame that accompanied their disfigurement-a factor that figured
prominently in the decision to apply the federal hate crime law.
Built on Kraybill's deep knowledge of Amish life and his contacts
within many Amish communities, Renegade Amish highlights one of the
strangest and most publicized sagas in contemporary Amish history.
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