Republican lawmakers are rallying on social media in support of an Amish farmer in Pennsylvania who was raided by police last month for selling milk in violation of government regulations.
Amos Miller claims that it sells its products only to “private member associations,” not to the public, and is exempt from government regulation. But the state Department of Agriculture claims his product has been linked to E. coli outbreaks in two other states.
Those reports led to a raid on Miller’s farm in early January, followed by a lawsuit from the Department of Agriculture.
Miller’s lawyers countered that the raid was justified by reports of a 2016 fatal accident allegedly involving Miller’s products.
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A view towards Amos Miller’s organic farm in Pennsylvania.
“The problem is, it never happened,” attorney Robert Burns wrote in a court filing last week, according to Lancaster Online. “In fact, the elderly woman who died had advanced cancer and had not consumed any raw Amos Miller dairy products, as her caretaker testified under oath, and the former Wall… This was discovered independently by a Street Journal reporter.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) in January denounced the raid as “shameful” and argued it was a classic example of government overreach.
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“It’s unfortunate that small farmers are forced into this situation by overbearing government regulators and members of Congress who have been captured by corporations and monopolies,” he told Newsweek in a statement Wednesday.
“I support all small farmers and consumers who want to participate in voluntary trade. It is essential that Congress adopt my Prime Act to improve the plight of small farmers like Amos. ” he added.
In January, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) denounced the raid on Amos Miller’s farm as “shameful” and argued it was a classic example of government overreach. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Donald Trump Jr. echoed X’s sentiments, sharing video of the police raid and accusing Pennsylvania of going after “farmers who sell to their neighbors.”
However, not all Republicans are on Miller’s side. State Rep. Dave Zimmerman, who represents nearby Lancaster County, insists Miller is not above the law.
“Let me be clear: I am 100% opposed to government overreach and have spent much of my time in Congress fighting against overregulation,” he said in a statement on January 17. . “It’s important to limit government, but we also recognize that we need some government.”
Donald Trump Jr. shared video of the police raid and accused Pennsylvania of going after “farmers who sell to their neighbors.” (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
“Mr. Miller’s lawsuit is not about buying and selling raw products, as some have suggested. Many farmers across the state sell raw products. You can go to a farm to buy raw product. There are a lot of farmers who have roadside stands.”Here in Lancaster County, we have people selling raw product. Mr. Miller’s case is about following basic agricultural regulations that apply to all other farmers in the state to produce safe food. Is it too much to ask farmers to follow these basic requirements to ensure food safety? ” he asked.
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“Is the solution simply to ignore Mr. Miller and allow him to violate the basic regulations that all other farmers must follow? That would certainly be unfair to other farmers,” he said. says.
Miller’s defense against the state lawsuit continues, but authorities have placed hundreds of products at Miller’s farm stand under a detention order pending the outcome of the lawsuit.
