Jurors reach verdict in Ohio Amish hair attacks

Jurors reach verdict in Ohio Amish hair attacks

CLEVELAND (AP) — Jurors have reached a verdict in the hate crimes trial of an Amish breakaway group accused of hair-cutting attacks against members of their own faith in Ohio.

The decision is expected to be announced later this afternoon in a Cleveland federal court.

The government says that the attacks were motivated by religious differences and that the defendants targeted the victims’ hair and beards because it carries spiritual significance in their faith.

Prosecutors say the leader of an Amish settlement orchestrated the attacks last fall that terrorized Amish communities in eastern Ohio.

Defense attorneys have conceded that the hair- and beard-cuttings took place but argue that the government is overreaching by calling what happened hate crimes. They say the cuttings were merely family disputes.