12/21/11 Sam Mullet, followers indicted on hate crimes

  • By Nick Sabo
  • December 21, 2011
  • 412
                        
SUMMARY: Indictment names new codefendants Members of the Bergholz Amish accused of attacking a Holmes County bishop were arraigned on hate crime charges Wednesday Dec. 20. Charged with conspiring to commit hate crimes and tampering with evidence in U.S. District Court are Daniel S. Mullet, 37, 8865 County Road 53, Bergholz; Eli M. Miller, 31, 385 Township Road 280, Bergholz; Levi F. Miller, 53, 35 County Road 53, Bergholz; Johnny S. Mullet, 38, 362 Township Road 280, Bergholz; Lester S. Mullet, 26, 522 Township Road 54, Hammondsville, Samuel Mullet, Sr., 66, 385 Township Road 280, Bergholz and Emanuel Shrock, age and address unknown. The indictment adds the following individuals as codefendants whose ages and addresses have not been released: Lester Miller, Raymond Miller, Freeman Burkholder, Anna Miller and Linda Shrock, bringing the number of defendants criminally charged to 12. All are identified as members of the Bergholz Amish, and all but Levi Miller are listed as kin of Bergholz leader Samuel Mullet. Johnny Mullet, Daniel Mullet and Lester Mullet are Samuel Mullet’s sons; Raymond Miller, Eli Miller and Lester miller are Samuel Mullet’s nephews. Freeman Burkholder is married to Samuel Mullet’s niece and Anna Miller is married to a nephew. Emanuel Shrock is married to Samuel Mullet’s daughter, Linda Shrock. The charges stem from attacks on nine unnamed victims who were victims of five beard-cutting attacks allegedly perpetrated by the 12 named codefendants. The indictment states that Samuel Mullet and the remaining codefendants conspired to commit attacks of retaliation for persons who were perceived to have gone against Samuel Mullet’s authority as leader of the Bergholz Amish. The attacks were carried between Sept. 6 - Nov. 9 and involved use of a pair of scissors, a pair of custom shears and battery-powered hair clippers. In all of the alleged attacks, the unnamed victims allegedly suffered physical harm, either by being cut or assaulted. The hair cut in at least some of the assaults was taken back to Samuel Mullet as proof his will had been carried out, according to the indictment. A camera was also used to allegedly take pictures of the victims after the attacks. The indictment reveals in detail the planning and execution of the attacks. The Sept. 6 attack occurred in Trumbull County and involved two victims. Eli M. Miller, Lester Miller, Raymond Miller, Freeman Burkholder and Anna Miller travelled to the victims’ residence and restrained the two individuals while using the scissors and clippers to cut off their hair. They then returned to Samuel Mullet’s home to recount what they did. The alleged victim of a Sept. 24 attack was contacted via telephone and enticed to visit Emmanuel Shrock. The victim was given a cup of coffee laced with an “over-the-counter product intended to make” the victim ill. The victim’s beard and hair were cut after he was led outside to view Emmanuel Shrock’s property. The victim was allegedly forcibly restrained while his beard was cut. Levi Miller, Eli M. Miller and Emmanuel Shrock are listed as the perpetrators of the alleged attack. Two alleged attacks occurred on Oct. 4. The first occurred in Holmes County, when Johnny Mullet, Danny Mullet, Lester Mullet, Levi Miller and Eli Miller were transported to the home of an Amish Bishop. The beards and hair of the bishop and his son were cut and several members of the household were allegedly assaulted, including at least one individual who tried to intervene. The second attack was carried out after the Holmes County attack in Carroll County. In the Nov. 9 attack, the alleged victim was urged to visit Emanuel Shrock in Bergholz. Shrock, in letters to the victim prior to the attack, promised nothing would happen if the victim visited. When the victim arrived, his hair and beard were cut in an attack carried out by Emanuel Shrock and Linda Shrock. Previous filings in federal court indicated the Nov. 9 victim is Emanuel Shrock’s father. The records further state Shrock’s mother was restrained by Linda Shrock while the beard cutting took place. In the Carroll County attack Oct. 4, the victim was pulled from his home by the beard before having his beard and hair cut. The basis for the hate crimes charge is that the attacks were carried out because of the victims’ religion. The tampering with evidence charge alleges the defendants attempted to hide or destroy a camera used to take pictures of the attack victims and the substance placed in the coffee of the Sept. 24 victim. Samuel Mullet is described as having cult-leader status among the Bergholz Amish in the indictment. The indictment alleges Samuel Mullet was sexually intimate with the wives of members of his congregation to give them ‘training’ on how to be “sexually satisfied in their marriages”. Samuel Mullet allegedly encouraged and carried out severe punishments for disobedience of his wishes. The Holmes County attack is believed to have been carried out in retribution for a decision by a council of bishops, of which one of the victims was part, who overturned a shunning decision by Samuel Mullet. The Nov. 9 attack appears to be linked to Shrock’s father’s decision to leave the Bergholz Amish in 2006. A hearing on the charges is scheduled for Jan. 11.


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