The latest victim in a string of attacks by an Amish haircutting mob was attacked by his own son, according to the Sheriff in Jefferson County, Ohio.
Sheriff Fred Abdalla says that an elderly man was visiting his son in a breakaway Amish community run by Sam Mullet, called the Bergholz clan, when he was attacked.
From the AP:
The man, who Abdalla said was in his 70s, went to his son’s home and the two talked. The man said his son then attacked him, with the help of the son’s children, and wrestled the elderly man to the ground, Abdalla said.The sheriff said the elderly man’s wife tried to help her husband but was held back by her daughter-in-law.
“I begged him to file a complaint,” Abdalla said, the Herald-Press reports, adding: “This is terrible. It is all supposed to be over differences of religion. There is no question this was pre-planned.”
The FBI is investigating a series of incidents in which Amish men would allegedly break into the homes of mainstream Amish and cut off their hair and beards, which are symbols of faith in the Amish community. So far there have been five arrests of members of the Bergholz clan.
Mullet is also accused of running his clan like a cult, and in one incident reportedly forced a member of the clan to stay in a chicken coop for 15 days in the middle of winter over a religious disagreement.
Jillian Rayfield
Jillian Rayfield is a Reporter/Blogger for TPM, and started as a News Intern in May 2009. She graduated from Cornell University in May 2008 with a degree in Film, and worked as a Research Assistant for a market research firm in London in between.
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