STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — A group of religious castoffs has been attacking fellow Amish, cutting off their hair and beards in an apparent feud over spiritual differences, a sheriff said Thursday, and one victim blamed relatives involved in a cult.
No charges have been filed, but several victims suffered minor injuries, Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla said. The investigation has been hampered by the traditional reluctance of Amish to turn to law enforcement.
Men and sometimes women from a group of Jefferson County families disavowed by mainstream Amish have terrorized a half-dozen or more fellow Amish, cutting beards and hair off men and hair off women, the sheriff said.
The attacks occurred over the past three weeks.
Abdalla said the motive may be related to unspecified religious differences involving 18 Amish families — 17 of them related — that have drawn previous attention from law enforcement, including a threat against the sheriff and a relative convicted of sexual contact with a minor.
Cutting hair and beards apparently was meant to be degrading and insulting, the sheriff said.
It’s common practice for married Amish men to have beards, said Donald Kraybill, a professor at Elizabethtown College and an expert on Amish life.
“Likewise, women do not cut their hair based on biblical teaching,” he wrote in an e-mail.
Kraybill said Amish-on- Amish violence “is extremely rare.” Some Amish have called Abdalla asking for help stopping the attacks, and some have talked to their children about home safety.
