Woman in beekeeping suit arrested after unleashing swarm on sheriff’s deputies
The woman was part of a protest against deputies serving an eviction notice.
A woman is facing assault and battery charges after she unleashed a swarm of bees on sheriff’s deputies serving an eviction notice.
Rorie Woods was arraigned in Springfield District Court on multiple charges stemming from an incident on October 12.
Sheriff’s deputies trying to serve an eviction notice in Longmeadow, Massachusetts were met with a crowd of protesters. Shortly after they began the eviction, Woods showed up in an SUV towing a trailer full of bee hives.
Woods, wearing a white protective beekeeping suit, smashed the lids to the hives and began shaking them at deputies, according to the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department.
The agitated bees swarmed the area and stung multiple deputies and innocent bystanders.
She then tried to place the hives in front of the home’s door and further enrage the swarming bees.
‘We are always prepared for protests when it comes to evictions, but a majority of the groups who protest understand that we are just doing our statutory duty in accordance with state law,’ Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi said told FOX 25.
‘I support people’s right to protest peacefully but when you cross the line and put my staff and the public in danger, I promise you will be arrested,’ the sheriff added.
Cocchi also said that Woods had travelled to Longmeadow from a different county for the protest.
According to court records obtained by MassLive, sheriff’s deputies informed Woods at the scene that several employees there were allergic to bee stings.
‘Oh, you’re allergic? Good,’ Woods said in response.
‘We had one staff member go the hospital, and, luckily, he was all right, or she would be facing manslaughter charges,’ Cocchi said.
Woods, of Hadley, Massachusetts, was booked at the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Facility. She is facing four counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, as well as one count of disorderly conduct.
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