Sixteen defendants in the Amish beard-cutting incidents were arraigned in federal court in Cleveland yesterday.

Shears Amish BeardThe indictments include charges of kidnapping, conspiracy, and assault.  All pleaded not guilty.  One account is here.

Reading through the various media stories a few things jumped out:

  • Six women are among the defendants.
  • The seven men who are being held in prison wore orange jumpsuits.
  • New charges of evidence tampering have been added.  The accused are said to have bought a disposable camera to photograph victims, which they later hid from authorities. They also tried to “hide or destroy” shears and a bag of hair.
  • A defense lawyer predicts the case will cost “millions of dollars”. Each defendant has a court-appointed attorney.  Most of the attorneys are traveling to Cleveland from outside the area.

Photo: Marzie/sxc.hu

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