CLEVELAND – Attorneys for people accused of carrying out hair-cutting attacks on fellow Amish in Ohio say what happened was more like a family feud.
The hair-cuttings occurred last fall in Bergholz, a small village 80 miles southeast of Cleveland.
The attorneys don't deny the hair-cuttings took place but say they don't add up to hate crimes. That's a central part of their defense in a federal trial that began last week in Cleveland and resumes Wednesday.
Prosecutors say the attacks were motivated by religious differences. They say the defendants targeted the hair and beards of Amish people because of their spiritual significance in the faith.
But the defense says family squabbles over money, children and even the way some women in the conservative settlements dressed also played a part.
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