Authorities claimed a Massachusetts woman is facing many assault and battery charges after she allegedly let loose a swarm of bees on sheriff’s officials as they attempted to deliver an eviction notice.
According to court records cited by Masslive.com on Wednesday, Rorie S. Woods, 55, entered a not guilty plea during her appearance on October 12 in Springfield District Court and was subsequently released without posting bail.
She and the other protesters insist that their goal was to stop an unjust eviction.
At that point, according to Grace Ross of the Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending, “everything should have stopped,” because the homeowner, Alton King, had presented documentation of a bankruptcy stay to court the following day.
Woods’ lawyer did not immediately respond to a voicemail left by The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Hampden County deputies were met by protesters when they went to the home in Longmeadow on the morning of Oct. 12, according to the official department report.
Woods, who lives in Hadley, arrived in an SUV towing a trailer carrying bee hives and started “shaking” them, breaking the cover off one and causing hundreds of bees to swarm out and initially sting one deputy, according to the report.
Woods, who put on a beekeeper’s suit to protect herself, was eventually handcuffed but not before several more sheriff’s department employees were stung, including three who are allergic to bees, the report said.
When Woods was told that several officers were allergic, she said “Oh, you’re allergic? Good,” according to the report.
Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi said Woods could have faced more serious charges if anything worse had happened. “We had one staff member go the hospital, and, luckily, he was all right,” Cocchi said.
The deputies were simply doing their duty, Chief Deputy Sheriff Robert Hoffman said.
“We had a court order that’s been presented to us and it’s our job to effectuate that court order,” Hoffman said. “It was Miss Woods’ arrival with her vehicle and her trailer that really caused things to go haywire.”