Ohio sheriff: Castoffs are attacking fellow Amish

[rug]

(AP) – 4 hours ago

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (AP) — A group of religious castoffs has been attacking fellow Amish, cutting off their hair and beards in an apparent feud over spiritual differences, a sheriff in eastern Ohio said Thursday.

No charges have been filed, but several victims suffered minor injuries, Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla said. The investigation has been hampered by the traditional reluctance of Amish to turn to law enforcement.

Men and sometimes women from a group of Jefferson County families disavowed by mainstream Amish have terrorized a half-dozen or more fellow Amish, cutting the beards off men and the hair off men and women, the sheriff said. The attacks occurred over the past three weeks in Carroll, Holmes, Jefferson and Trumbull counties, which form the heart of Ohio's Amish population, one of the nation's largest.

Abdalla said the motive may be related to unspecified religious differences involving 18 Amish families, 17 of them related, who have drawn previous attention from law enforcement, including a threat against the sheriff and a relative convicted of sexual contact with a minor.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iy5lZLS0D0JDHkRwbukzx9B8hqYA?docId=d6fedf4ce9824db2b193d3341eca0cf4

[leveymg]

1. WTF is going on with all the Amish posts lately?

[LiberalEsto]

2. Maybe it's Amish Spring nt

[xchrom]

3. Just unreported or under reported before now?

I guessing within the community there are a lot more stories.

[Jim__]

4. As surprising and disappointing as this story is, in the light of most modern stories of violence...

... cutting off hair and beards is a relatively mild transgression.

[spin]

5. Not to someone who is Amish. ..

Sheriff Abdalla said Amish families in three counties claim the so-called Bergholz clan burst into their homes cutting the beards and hair from women, men and even their children.

The Sheriff calls these alleged crimes degrading. "As one Amishman told me, he would rather be dead than have his beard cut off," he said.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20116855-504083.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody

I shave my head, so if I am ever attacked by a rouge band of Amish who are armed with barber shears, I'll just laugh at them.