Bergholz, Ohio in Jefferson County, near the Pennsylvania border, is a rural, farming community of less than 700 people. Bergholz is mostly known for its Amish community, as of late, notorious for a series of beard cutting attacks that took place in 2011.
Sixteen members of the Bergholz Community waged five attacks on victims who were mostly their Amish relatives who had either left the community or openly showed opposition to it. The sixteen, including leader Samuel Mullet Sr., were eventually charged with hate crimes and sent to prison.
Mullet's grandson, Johnny Mast has now written a book about the Bergholz Community detailing what was behind the attacks, and touches on the aftermath, including the trials in which he testified as a witness for the prosecution.
In this interview with WYSO last week, he tells what that experience was like and what life's like for him now that he’s left Bergholz.
