Samuel Mullet Sr., Hate Crimes, Ohio 2011
16 Defendants Convicted of Hate Crimes Against Amish Community in Ohio
A Cleveland jury has convicted 16 people, all residents of Ohio, of federal hate crimes arising out of a series of religiously-motivated assaults on practitioners of the Amish religion.
The convictions stem from a series of separate hate-crime 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. The defendants planned and carried out a series of assaults on their perceived religious enemies.
Samuel Mullet Sr., 66; Johnny S. Mullet, 39; Daniel S. Mullet, 38; Levi F. Miller, 54; Eli M. Miller, 32; Emanuel Shrock, age unknown; Lester Miller, 37; Anna Miller, age unknown; Linda Shrock, age unknown; Emma J. Miller, age unknown; Kathryn Miller, age unknown; and Lovina Miller, age 32, all of Bergholz, Ohio; Raymond Miller, 27; Freeman Burkholder, 31; Elizabeth A. Miller, age unknown; and Lester Mullet, 27, of Hammondsville, Ohio, were found guilty of conspiring to violate the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
The jury also convicted various groups of defendants with four hate crime counts against eight specific victims, and found that such hate crimes involved kidnapping. The defendants face terms of up to life in prison.
Judge Dan Aaron Polster scheduled a sentencing hearing on January 24, 2013. The violent and offensive actions of these defendants are an affront to religious freedom and tolerance, which are core values protected by our Constitution and our civil rights laws.
Samuel Mullet Sr., is the Bishop of the Amish community in Bergholz, Ohio, 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.
The defendants used 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 the indictment. The assaults all entailed using hired drivers, either by the defendants or the alleged victims, because practitioners of the Amish religion do not operate motor vehicles.
Defendant Charges: Conspiracy to violate the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, Hate crimes involving kidnapping.
Defendant Real Full Name: Samuel Mullet Sr., Johnny S. Mullet, Daniel S. Mullet, Levi F. Miller, Eli M. Miller, Emanuel Shrock, Lester Miller, Anna Miller, Linda Shrock, Emma J. Miller, Kathryn Miller, Lovina Miller, Raymond Miller, Freeman Burkholder, Elizabeth A. Miller, Lester Mullet.
City and State: Cleveland, Ohio.
Exact Date: September to November 2011.
Sentence or Outcome: Up to life in prison, sentencing hearing scheduled on January 24, 2013.
Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →