It was announced yesterday that a Federal Grand Jury handed down a 10 count superceding indictment charging 10 male and 6 females from Ohio for federal crimes in religiously motivated assaults on the Amish in that state.

The superseding indictment addresses five separate assaults that occurred between September and November of 2011, and obstructive conduct related to those assaults. In each assault, defendants forcibly removed beard and head hair from practitioners of the Amish faith with whom they had ongoing religious disputes.

As set forth in the superseding indictment, the manner in which Amish men wear their beards and Amish women wear their hair are symbols of their faith. The superseding indictment adds four defendants, Lovina Miller, Kathryn Miller, Emma Miller and Elizabeth Miller, who had not previously been charged. The indictment also adds charges against some of the defendants for the concealment and destruction of evidence, including a disposable camera, shears and a bag of hair from victims of the attacks, as well as a charge against Samuel Mullet Sr., for false statements he allegedly made to federal agents during the investigation.

In addition to Mullet, the indictment also charges four of his children, a son-in-law, three nephews, the spouses of a niece and nephew and a member of the Mullet community in Bergholz.

The dozen preceding defendants have all pled not guilty to the charges. The charges stem from a fued over church disipline.

Ohio has a population of just over 61,000 Amish.