WASHINGTON—Sixteen people were sentenced to prison today
for hate crimes arising out of a series of religiously motivated
assaults on practitioners of the Amish religion, announced Thomas E.
Perez, the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division;
Steven M. Dettelbach, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of
Ohio; and Stephen Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s
Cleveland Field Office.
The defendants all reside in Bergholz, Ohio, unless otherwise noted.
Samuel Mullet, 67, received a 15 -year sentence. Johnny S. Mullet, 39;
Lester Mullet, 28, of Hammondsville, Ohio; Levi F. Miller, 54; and Eli
M. Miller, 33, received seven-year sentences. Daniel S. Mullet, 38;
Lester Miller, 38; and Emanuel Schrock, 44, received five-year
sentences. Raymond Miller, 28, of Irondale, Ohio; and Linda Shrock, 45,
both received two-year sentences. Freeman Burkholder, 32, of Irondale;
Anna Miller, 33; Elizabeth A. Miller, 38, of Irondale; Emma J. Miller,
38; Kathryn Miller, 23, of Irondale; and Lovina Miller, 33, all received
a sentence of one year and one day.
A jury found the defendants guilty last September following a lengthy
trial. The convictions stem from five separate assaults that occurred
in four Ohio counties between September and November 2011. In each
assault, defendants forcibly removed beard and head hair from
practitioners of the Amish faith with whom they had ongoing religious
disputes.
The manner in which Amish men wear their beards and Amish women wear
their hair are symbols of their faith, according to trial testimony.
Samuel Mullet, Sr., Johnny S. Mullet, Daniel S. Mullet, Lester S.
Mullet, Levi F. Miller, Eli M. Miller, Emanuel Shrock, Lester Miller,
Raymond Miller, Freeman Burkholder, Anna Miller, and Linda Shrock were
convicted of conspiracy to violate Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 249,
also known as the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act,
which prohibits any person from willfully causing bodily injury to any
person, or attempting to do so by use of a dangerous weapon, because of
the actual or perceived religion of that person, and Title 18, U.S.
Code, Section 1512, which prohibits obstruction of justice, including
witness tampering and the destruction or concealment of evidence.
The jury also convicted various groups of defendants with separate
assaults and Samuel Mullet, Sr. and Lester Mullet with concealing or
attempting to conceal various items of tangible evidence, including a
camera and photographs of the attacks.
Samuel Mullet, Sr. is the bishop of the Amish community in Bergholz,
while the remaining defendants are all members of that community.
Mullet, Sr. exerted control over the Bergholz community by taking the
wives of other men into his home and by overseeing various means of
disciplining community members, including corporal punishment, according
to trial testimony.
As a result of religious disputes with other members of the Ohio
Amish community, the defendants planned and carried out a series of
assaults on their perceived religious enemies. The assaults involved the
use of hired drivers, either by the defendants or the alleged victims,
because practitioners of the Amish religion do not operate motor
vehicles. The assaults all entailed using scissors and battery-powered
clippers to forcibly cut or shave the beard hair of the male victims and
the head hair of the female victims, according to trial testimony.
During each assault, the defendants restrained and held down the
victims. During some of the assaults, the defendants injured individuals
who attempted to intervene to protect or rescue the victims. Following
the attacks, some of the defendants participated in discussions about
concealing photographs and other evidence of the assaults, according to
evidence presented at trial.
“From the time of its founding as a nation, the United States of
America has always been a beacon for those who seek religious freedom,”
said Assistant Attorney General Perez. “The Department of Justice and
the Civil Rights Division will vigorously defend every American’s right
to worship in the manner of their choosing, including the members of the
defendants’ community. However, violent assaults are not a form of
religious expression. The actions of the defendants were designed to
terrorize the victims, desecrate sacred symbols of their faith, and
interfere with their right to worship. These prosecutions reflect the
fact that the Department of Justice will not tolerate religiously
motivated violence.”
“From day one, this case has been about the rule of law and defending
the right of people to worship in peace. This was never about
‘haircuts.’ These were violent, religiously motivated home invasions
that left the victims bloody, bruised, and beaten,” said U.S. Attorney
Dettlebach. “Our nation was founded on the bedrock principle that
everyone is free to worship how they see fit. Violent attempts to attack
this most basic freedom have no place in our country.”
“This case is an excellent example of cooperation between the many
law enforcement agencies that investigated these crimes, along with the
prosecution team from the United States Attorney’s Office and the
Department of Justice,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Anthony. “The
FBI is committed to investigating hate crimes, including those
perpetrated against people motivated by bias toward religion as in this
case, or other areas protected by our civil rights statutes.”
This case was investigated by the Cleveland Division of the FBI and
was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Getz and Bridget M.
Brennan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio
and Deputy Chief Kristy Parker of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal
Section. The prosecutor’s and sheriff’s offices from Holmes, Carroll,
Jefferson, and Trumbull Counties also provided significant assistance in
the investigation and prosecution of this case.
