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MILLERSBURG, Ohio -- The leader of a splinter Amish sect and six followers were charged Wednesday with conspiracy to commit federal hate crimes and accused of cutting the beards of Amish men over religious disagreements.

Authorities arrested Samuel Mullet Sr., three of his sons and three other followers in the pre-dawn hours at their homes in rural Jefferson County. Law enforcement officials also searched Mullet's home in Bergholz, a town where he leads a community that some say has become a cult.

Mullet, 66, forced wayward followers to sleep in chicken coops for days at a time and took married women in his community into his home to "cleanse them of the devil with acts of sexual intimacy," according to an FBI affidavit (pdf) filed Wednesday. No decisions were made in Mullet's community without seeking his permission, the affidavit said.

"You've got Amish all over the state of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana that are concerned," said Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla. "We've received hundreds and hundreds of calls from people living in fear. They are buying Mace. Some are sitting with shotguns. They're putting locks on their doors -- because of Sam Mullet."

Mullet and the six others were to appear in U.S. District Court in Youngstown. U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach called the attacks "religiously motivated," and he stressed that "no one in this nation or in this community" has the right to assault anyone based on religious beliefs.

Authorities said Mullet aided his sons and followers in the attacks, which stemmed from religious disagreements and the handling of them by mainstream Amish leaders in Holmes, Carroll and other Ohio counties.

The attacks have shined an unwelcome light on Ohio's Amish community and the ugly split between mainstream Amish leaders and Mullet's followers. The fact that federal charges have been filed is stunning in this region in Ohio -- roughly two-and-a-half hours from Cleveland. The Amish seek to forgive those who have wronged them. And they seldom, if ever, seek out law enforcement to help settle their problems.

The hair and beard cuttings, bizarre in today's culture, are meant to degrade Amish men, who grow their beards after marriage based on their religious beliefs. In some of the attacks, Mullet's followers used a camera to capture the images of the cut beards, a further attempt to insult the victims, authorities said.

The FBI affidavit said differences between Mullet and other Amish leaders have simmered for years. They continued when he ex-communicated eight families that left his community in Bergholz. For the Amish, an ex-communication must be based on teachings of their faith, according to the FBI affidavit.

A group of Amish leaders reviewed the decisions and overturned Mullet in 2005 or 2006, saying his decisions were out of revenge and punishment, according to the FBI memo. The families were allowed to joint other Amish communities in Trumbull and Carroll counties.

On Oct. 4, Mullet's sons and followers went to the home of a Holmes County bishop to retaliate against a man who reportedly was involved in the process over the ex-communications, according to the FBI affidavit. Mullet's sons and followers attacked the bishop and his son.

The bishop pleaded with the men not to cut his beard, placing his hands over his head, according to the affidavit. One of the attackers said the bishop was a Christian and shouldn't struggle.

The bishop said the attackers also were Christians, and they shouldn't be attacking him.

"We're not Christians," one of the men said, according to the FBI affidavit.

Hours later, the men attacked another bishop who lived in Carroll County. During each of the attacks, the FBI said, one of Mullet's followers used a camera to capture the images of bishops. The bishop did not have anything to do with the ex-communications, but he did help one of Mullet's other sons leave his father's group in Bergholz.

The affidavit said similar attacks took place during the fall on Amish residents Jefferson and Trumbull counties.

One of Mullet's sons, Johnny, admitted that he took part in the attacks, according to the FBI affadavit. The younger Mullet said that while his father did not send them to attack the bishops, Sam Mullet did talk with him about the plan prior to heading to the homes, the FBI memo said.

Samuel Mullet also provided an address to his son for the attack in Holmes County, the FBI said. The affidavit cited an Associated Press story that attributed statements to Samuel Mullet involving the attacks.

He claimed the beard cutting was an attempt to "send a message to Amish in Holmes County that they should be ashamed of themselves for the way they were treating" him.

On Oct. 7, just three after the attacks in Holmes and Carroll counties, Mullet's sons and followers were arrested and placed in the Holmes County Jail. Two days later, Levi Miller, one of Mullet's followers talked with him by phone.

During the call, which was recorded, Samuel Mullet told Miller "that some of the guys wanted to go out tonight and do it again," the FBI affidavit said. Miller wasn't sure of the idea, but Mullet laughed.

An unknown man interrupted and said that if the group could get through the current legal situation then "we can go get more beard hair," according to the FBI affidavit.

The most recent attack took place on Nov. 9 when another follower lured his father to Jefferson County where he cut the older man's beard.

All the men arrested on the hate crimes charges are being held without bond.

On Wednesday, a 38-year-old Amish man from Millersburg showed up at the Holmes County Prosecutor's office for the press conference on the charges. He said he has relatives in Bergholz, and he was happy to hear of the charges.

The man said the community that Sam Mullet runs is a cult.

"He brainwashed those people," the man said, declining to give his name because he feared retribution. "They did it for him."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.