Ohio judge sends Amish beard-cutting case to felony court, continues bond for 5 defendants
10/19/2011MILLERSBURG, Ohio — The case against five members of a breakaway Amish group accused of forcefully cutting the beard of an Amish bishop in Ohio has been sent to felony court.
In a standard legal proceeding, a municipal judge in Millersburg, in northeast Ohio, sent the case to Holmes County Common Pleas Court. The defendants waived a preliminary hearing on the evidence.
The men were freed on bond last week. Holmes County Municipal Judge Jane Irving continued their bonds.
According to The (Wooster) Daily Record, they appeared in court Wednesday with their attorney.
They were charged with kidnapping and burglary for allegedly cutting the beard of the bishop in a dispute over church discipline.
Similar beard- and hair-cutting attacks against Amish are under investigation in at least two other Ohio counties.