Renegade Amish: Beard Cutting, Hate Crimes, and the Trial of the Bergholz Barbers

Summary

On the night of September 6, 2011, terror called at the Amish home of the Millers. Mrs. Miller opened the door to her five estranged adult sons, a daughter, and their spouses. Within moments, the men had pulled their frightened father out of bed and sheared his hair and beard. The women then turned on Mrs. Miller, yanking her prayer cap from her head and shredding it before cutting off her waist-long hair. About twenty minutes later, the attackers fled into the darkness, taking their parents' hair as a trophy.

Four similar beard-cutting attacks followed, disfiguring nine victims and generating a tsunami of media coverage.

Ten men and six women from the Bergholz community were arrested and found guilty a year later of eighty-seven felony charges involving conspiracy, lying, and obstructing justice. In a precedent-setting decision, all of the defendants were convicted of federal hate crimes.

Renegade Amish goes behind the scenes to tell the full story of the Bergholz barbers: the attacks, the investigation, the trial, and the aftermath. Donald B. Kraybill weaves a dark story in which a series of violent Amish-on-Amish attacks shattered the peace of these traditionally nonviolent people.