Several assault charges have been brought against Rorie Woods, a 55-year-old resident of Massachusetts, USA, for allegedly unleashing a swarm of bees on a group of police officers attempting to serve an eviction notice in Longmeadow.
At her appearance on October 12 in Springfield District Court, Woods entered a not-guilty plea and was freed without posting bond, according to Mass Live.
According to the official department report, numerous protestors were present when deputies from the Hampden County Sheriff's Department went to a residence in Longmeadow on October 12 to deliver a court-issued eviction notice.
The 55-year-old, who did not live in the area, arrived shortly after that in an SUV pulling a trailer full of beehives, started "shaking" them, broke the lid off one, and let hundreds of bees swarm out. It further stated that she had protected herself by donning a beekeeper's costume.
Several police officers were stung, including two and three allergic to bee stings. When Woods learned that some police officers had bee allergies, she responded, "You have allergies, huh? Good, "based on the report. Later, she was detained.
Woods and other protestors, according to TIME, contend that they were attempting to stop an unjustified eviction. The following day, Alton King, the homeowner, submitted proof of a bankruptcy stay to the court. At that time, "everything should have halted," said Grace Ross of the Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending.
Robert Hoffman, Chief Deputy of the Civil Process Office, was cited as stating, "Never in all my years of directing the Hampden County Sheriff's Civil Process Division have I seen something like this," in a lengthy post on Facebook by the Hampden County Sheriff Department. Because they will be charged and convicted, "I hope that these out-of-county demonstrators would think twice about employing such harsh means in the future."
According to Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi, Rorie Woods would have been charged seriously if something worse had happened to his deputies. We had one employee go to the hospital, and fortunately, he recovered; otherwise, she would have been charged with manslaughter. I respect the freedom of individuals to demonstrate peacefully, but when you go too far and put my staff and the public in danger, I promise you will be arrested."
The report also adds that Woods will be produced in court later.