News Release

INDIANAPOLIS — Intimidation charges against three Amish bishops have been upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals. The bishops banned a woman from the church for refusing to remove a protective order against her husband.

The Indiana Court of Appeals came to the same conclusion last week, finding that the bishops’ threats amounted to intimidation.

Indiana’s intimidation statute criminalizes the expression of an intent to expose another person in the future to “hatred, contempt, disgrace or ridicule, with the intent that the other person engages in conduct against her will.”

The appeals court judges cited an Indiana Supreme Court ruling in a civil tort case in which they determined “criminal conduct is not protected by the church-autonomy doctrine — even if carried out using communications about church doctrine or policy.”

The three bishops can ask the Indiana Supreme Court to take up the case to overturn their convictions, but they had not filed a petition to do so as of Tuesday.

The Beginning

The case stems from 2017. A woman received a protective order against her husband after he was charged with battering on of their seven children. The family had been a part of the Old Order Amish Church in LaGrange County.

The Department of Child Services became involved with the family a year earlier following reports of inappropriate physical discipline by the husband/father. DCS employees told the woman if she had a protective order rescinded and further reports of abuse received, the children could be removed.

The couple separated in 2017 and she moved to Elkhart County to a new Amish district.

Court documents state the following year, three bishops from the LaGrange district visited the woman and reportedly pressured her to reconcile with her husband. Four months later the three bishops came unannounced, without their wives and told the woman she had been placed in the Bann. this means she could not take communion, participate in church meetings and her money would not be accepted at Amish stores.

Court documents also state Bishops Freeman Hochstetler, Willard Yoder and Joe Hochstetler implied the punishment would only be lifted if she took her name off the protective order against the husband. She would also be required to make a public confession of fault.

The Elkhart County Prosecutor filed misdemeanor charges of intimidation against the three men in 2021.

The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the charges, arguing their actions were protected by the First Amendment and the church autonomy doctrine. The longstanding policy says faith groups have the right to make decisions regarding their own internal affairs, including matters of faith, doctrine and internal governance like excommunications.

The trial court rejected those arguments and found the men guilty of intimidation.

This is the most recent case of Amish beliefs clashing with state and federal policies and laws. It also marks a challenge to how far the First Amendment goes in protecting religious freedom.