'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Sixteen Amish men and women were convicted Thursday of hate crimes for a series of hair- and beard-cutting attacks on fellow sect members in a religious dispute that offered a rare and sometimes lurid glimpse into the closed and usually self-regulating community of believers.
FBI agents have arrested five people in a suspected conspiracy to blow up a bridge near Cleveland, three of whom were identified by federal authorities as self-proclaimed anarchists who formed into a small group and considered a series of evolving plots over several months.
"The victims in this case are members of a peaceful and traditional religion who simply wanted to be left to practice their religion in peace," said U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach. "Unfortunately, the defendants denied them this basic right, and they did so in the most violent way."
U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach said the government would now turn its attention to proving the case against the other four men.
