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Amish Bishop Gets 15 Years in Prison for Beard-Cutting Attacks

Feb. 8, 2013 3:04pm Becket Adams

Amish Bishop Sam Mullet Sentenced to 15 Years Behind Bars for Hate Crimes

Amish bishop Sam Mullet ( Amy Sancetta/AP).

CLEVELAND (TheBlaze/AP) — The ringleader in the string of hair-and beard-cutting attacks on fellow Amish in Ohio was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison and 15 family members received sentences of one year to seven years.

“The victims were terrorized and traumatized,” U.S. District Court Judge Dan Aaron Polster said in sentencing leader Sam Mullet Sr., 67, who sat without emotion during the sentencing.

The judge said the defendants had violated the constitutional rights protecting religious practice that had benefited them as Amish — such as an exemption from jury service and allowing Amish children to leave school at age 14.

“Each of you has received the benefits of that First Amendment,” Polster said.

The judge said the defendants have two weeks to file an appeal of their sentence or conviction. Defense attorneys have indicated such appeals are likely.

The Mullet family, and other members of the Amish sect. (Getty Images).

Before his sentencing, Mullet told the judge that he had been blamed for running a cult and was ready to take the punishment. Mullet, his ankles in chains and a white beard down to mid-chest, said if his community is seen as a cult, “Then I’m going to take the punishment for everybody.”

With relatives of victims and his family sitting on opposite sides of the public gallery, Mullet said he has lived his life trying to help others.

“That’s been my goal all my life,” Mullet said to a hushed courtroom, with his fellow defendants and their attorneys sitting at four defense tables and filling the jury box.

“I’m not going to be here much longer,” said Mullet, who didn’t elaborate on any health issues.

Mullet and his family deny his community is a cult. As noted elsewhere on TheBlaze, the feds asked for a life sentence for Mullet. The defense asked for two years or less.

The 10 men and six women were convicted last year in five attacks in Amish communities in 2011. The government said the attacks were retaliation against Amish who had defied or denounced Mullet’s authoritarian style.

Photos provided by the Jefferson County Sheriffs Department to NBC News show, from left, Levi Miller, Johnny Mullet, and Lester Mullet, of Bergholz, Ohio. The three men were arrested Oct. 8, 2011, for allegedly going into the homes of other Amish and cutting their hair and beards.

Other defendants, some in tears, also offered to take the brunt of the blame and punishment on behalf of Mullet or spouses. Addressing the judge one-by-one, the defendants said there would be no more beard-cutting attacks.

Freeman Burkholder, 32, husband of a Mullet niece and father of eight children, apologized to the judge.

“I won’t do it again,” he said.

Anna Miller, 33, married to a Mullet nephew and mother of six, also apologized, turning to relatives of victims as she said, “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” Like most of the women, she was sentenced to one year.

A federal prosecutor, Bridget Brennan, urged the judge to punish Mullet adequately.

“He is a danger to this community,” she said. “He is capable of controlling 15 defendants.”

Brennan repeated key testimony against Mullet and said he has remained the leader of his eastern Ohio community despite being locked up since his arrest in late 2011.

The defendants were charged with a hate crime because prosecutors believe religious differences brought about the attacks.

Nine of 10 men who were convicted have been locked up awaiting sentencing. The six women, who all have children, have been free on bond.

In a rare interview last week in Bergholz at the sprawling Mullet farm amid rolling hills in eastern Ohio, Mullet’s unmarried 19-year-old grandson, Edward Mast, discussed the family’s attitude. He said they are steadfast in the belief that the attacks didn’t rise to the level of a hate crime.

“The beard, what it stands for me, what I know about it, once you’re married, you just grow a beard. That’s just the way the Amish is,” Mast said.

As for the victims, he added, “They got their beard back again, so what’s the big deal about it?”

Edward Mast, whose grandfather is seen as the ringleader in the beard-cutting attacks, said they are seen as discipline in a church feud, not a hate crime. (AP).

Arlene Miller, whose husband, an Amish bishop, was among the victims, thinks Mullet deserves a tough sentence and the others should get less time if they get cult deprogramming counseling.

“It’s a cult,” said Miller, 48, of Carrollton. “Their minds were programmed in the wrong way by Sam Mullet, so we feel like these people are very deceived and they are actually victims of Sam Mullet.”

She said there were no winners in the ordeal.

“There’s no happy ending to this,” she said.

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Featured image courtesy the AP.

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Comments (68)

DEPORTOBAMA
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 10:43pm
Anybody else think Levi Miller looks like Bin Laden?

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- yougottabekidding
  Posted on February 9, 2013 at 8:04pm
  So cutting a beard (as despicable as it is) is a Hate crime punishable by 15 years, but killing a live baby in a partial birth abortion is legal.
  Just what the hell am I missing?
  
  Report this comment
- Stoplookwhatsthatsound
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 2:46am
  This is just another example of big brother reaching out into the sub cultures to let them know we got you buy the you know what. They let us know it on a day to day basis. Remember, it’s not about your health, it’s not about carbon, its all about control.
  
  Report this comment
txjb
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 10:06pm
And the Fort Hood islamist terrorist has yet to be tried .

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- G-WHIZ
  Posted on February 9, 2013 at 9:57am
  As long as O-BOMB-A IS STILL IN OFFICE, or as long as E.Witholder is “non-enforcing” no ****** will ever be proceccuted!!
  Oh……by-duh-way….BEARDS GROW BACK!!
  
  Report this comment
Tigress1
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 7:30pm
From the looks of the Mullet family their hairstyles are more of a bowl cut than a mullet. :)

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kahieb
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 6:00pm
Where was Merlin from the Ohio Amish mob when all of this was taking place? Or was he in Penn. dealing with Levi when this took place? Enquiringly minds want to know…

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- paulusmaximus
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 9:04am
  You watch way to much “REALITY TV”
  
  Report this comment
Gonzo
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 5:50pm
15 years? That’s absurd. People spend less time in prison for murder these days.

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- The-Monk
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 5:56pm
  Hi Gonzo,
  
  What’s even more absurd is that they were seeking a Life sentence for him….
  
  Report this comment
- shorelineliz
  Posted on February 9, 2013 at 2:24pm
  I agree. 15 years is ridiculous. But so are home invasions with scissors on beards and heads. This whole story weirds me out!
  
  Report this comment
- skunkbear
  Posted on February 9, 2013 at 8:17pm
  An Amish man goes to prison for fifteen years for cutting off other men’s beards yet the international murderer Chris Kyle gets a full blown gubment approved funeral?!
  
  Kyle killed hundreds of innocent people in the defense of such prosecutorial fed tyranny yet he is upheld as a “hero”? .
  
  Fifteen years for cutting off a man’s beard yet not one single gubment official is held responsible for the so called 911 attacks. USA, USA, USA!
  
  Report this comment
- Ozzie5656
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 11:54am
  They are just wanting to fill more prison cells so they can build more prisons. It wasn’t a hate crime and it should have been taken care of within their larger church organization and not any us court. The bigger problem is indeed big bro stepping in at every damned place and time into our privacy and stomping all over our un-alienable rights. What ****** me off too, is that they destroyed the way of life in Lybia that we should have in America: no electric bills, .14 cent per gallon gas, $50,000 given to each newly wed couple for housing, 0 interest payments on all loans from a truly state owned bank, and free health care.
  
  Report this comment
The-Monk
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 5:20pm
Is he a “raw milker”…..?

Sorry, can’t finish that joke. It would be deleted anyways. LOL

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Elena2010
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 5:08pm
How on earth and the US Constitution did this even end up in court? This is a church matter, not a state matter. This is why we have a First Amendment.

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- zapparules
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 9:46pm
  So a physical attack (assault) on another can be dismissed if such is done as a church matter???
  
  Report this comment
Outlaw_Josey_Wales
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 5:06pm
Why didn’t the Amish Mafia handle this?

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- ReallySeriouslyNoWay
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 5:44pm
  I think one of those guys arrested might be Merlin from Ohio.
  
  Report this comment
Lando
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 5:03pm
nonsense

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ivanvivian
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 4:55pm
The biggest hate crime was perpetrated by the judge. Giving fifteen years for cutting beards, when people far less for manslaughter and drunken driving.

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Eastinfection
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 4:49pm
lol…
“…….churn butter once or twice living in an Amish Paradise”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOfZLb33uCg

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- The-Monk
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 6:44pm
  Howdy East,
  
  That’s a keeper…. LOL
  
  Report this comment
spfoam1
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 4:40pm
He was the leader of a bunch of thugs, and gets 15 years. The same laws should apply to union bosses, like TRUMPKA.

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txblaze
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 4:09pm
Should have just let the Amish Mafia deal with them. They probably need new material for episodes.

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Southernsoul
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 4:07pm
I used to live near a large Amish community in South Western Ohio. Those people are all nuts.

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Acena
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:54pm
This is silly.
There are murderers that serve 4 years ,DUI manslaughters that get 30 day sentences .We have child molesters walking the streets. There are hate crimes all the time that are not prosecuted .
Does he really belong in prison with drug addicts and murderers for cutting beards ?
Make these communities work together .Send in a mediator or a couple of counselors .

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- Ghandi was a Republican
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 4:11pm
  And we have alinsky radicals running loose in the White House. Which of these crimes is truly the Capitol offense? Seriously. One of them is a hanging offense called treason. They didn’t get there by being truthful about themselves.
  
  Report this comment
- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 4:17pm
  Make him build barns and do chores for other Amish. 15 years is very harsh for cutting ****.
  
  Report this comment
FISH_BONE
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:49pm
The Mullet family? Business in the front, party in the back?

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- Ghandi was a Republican
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:54pm
  Yah– I couldn’t help to notice that no mention of the haircuts themselves being bad or just wrong had made their way into the prosecutions argument.
  
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- BARRYS_BEARD
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:57pm
  The Mullet Family from oldest to youngest:
  
  1. Ezekiel Jakob Levi Mullet
  2. Jakob Ezekiel Levi Mullet
  3. Levi Jakob Ezekiel Mullet
  4. Ezekiel Ezekiel Jakob Mullet
  5. Rachel Mullet
  6. Levi Ezekiel Jakob Mullet
  7. Bob Mullet
  
  Report this comment
- OUTLAW_WEALTH
  Posted on February 9, 2013 at 10:39pm
  The punishment serves as a deterrent. We can’t have roving bands of malicious beard trimmers roaming our back country roadways, traumatizing adherents of a religious minority. That’s just not who we are as a people. We’re better than that. If I had a son, would I want him to grow up in a country like this? I think not.
  
  Report this comment
Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:47pm
“The victims were terrorized and traumatized” He was accused of running a cult. So how many years is obama going to get?

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- circleDwagons
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 5:12pm
  Eternity in hell. God bless obama
  
  Report this comment
Minnaloushe
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:43pm
An individual can’t violate a constitutional right, can they? Only a government can. This was battery, etc.

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- WarMunger_Al
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 6:51pm
  it was assault and battery, but neither would get you 15 years in prison. I could beat someone into a coma and i would be sentenced to less time. The punishment is excessive by any measure.
  
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Witness1974
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:36pm
Someone should have seen this coming. You can tell when an Amish guy is going bad; he starts wearing his hat backwards and wearing argyle socks.

Seriously this seems like a heavy handed sentence. Imagine if he had used electric clippers. I’m sorry I just can’t help it. 15 years for trimming beards? The prosecutor wanted the judge to give him a life senctence–that was a close shave. OK really, I’m sorry. I’ll stop now.

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sandlakebob
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:30pm
Just take a little off the bottom please !

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RIGHT_WHERE_IT_HURTS
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:20pm
Why don’t they put him in with Hassan? Then MAYBE, the trial could finally begin.

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- OldSurfRat
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:33pm
  LOL Right
  
  LOVE that idea!
  
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TIMEBOMB
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:18pm
Where’s an Amish dude with scissors when you need em? I need to get rid of my beard ASAP because my two SS stallions aren’t getting any younger.

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- biohazard23
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:34pm
  We really need to get you to a bath house quickly. You poor thing. You must be suffering so much. Can’t you just go to Chicago for a little, uh, “meeting” with Rahm? We know how much you like it when he does his ballet moves for you, you dirty boy. Does Mooch not look as good in a tutu as he does?
  
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- BARRYS_BEARD
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:45pm
  Come on man! I thought you loved me. Think about the kids.
  
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- TIMEBOMB
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 5:22pm
  BIo When I’m finished destroying America I’ll have Rahm and my two favorite SS stallions all to myself and we’ll have a fabulous time together.
  
  My dear beard having served your purpose I hereby ‘shave you’ so I can enjoy my gayness.
  
  Report this comment
- JACKTHETOAD
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 9:44pm
  Ain’t NOBODY trimmin’ my pubies!
  
  Report this comment
MDECKER
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:14pm
There have been people who have committed murder that have received less time. Mullet should have played professional football perhaps.

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- paulusmaximus
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 9:05am
  True!
  
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ZAP
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:12pm
Now he’s locked up.they can party down …

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huey6367
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:07pm
Second picture down, guy on far right – isn’t that Michael Phelps?

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- FISH_BONE
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 5:02pm
  No, that’s Ezekiel.
  
  Report this comment

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