DOJ Pushes to Jail Hershberger After Jury AcquittalHeather Callaghan Farmer Acquitted by Jury Now Threatened With Jail Time by Wisconsin Department of Justice Just over a week ago, a heated battle went down in Baraboo, Wisconsin and farmer Vernon Hershberger received a mostly victorious verdict despite major odds stacked against him. A jury found him not guilty for three charges dealing with lack of licensing while distributing fresh foods to herd share members; and guilty for breaking a holding order when he cut the tape to feed his family and continued distributing after a 2010 raid. Agents had ruined his food by pouring blue dye into a giant bulk tank, ruined his personal food, stole his computer and files and left his family with two days food. This guilty count still holds a penalty of one year in jail and $10,000 in fines. Lets back up the train a bit because these trials and hearings have been going on for a long time now. In January 2012 Vernon Hershberger was arraigned at the Sauk County Courthouse on four criminal misdemeanor charges for violations of the state food and dairy code; after initially appearing before Judge Guy Reynolds, he was released on a $500 bond after a January 2010 raid with the bond containing conditions he was not to violate. Thats the holding order Vernon later decided to break, believing that it would be wrong to stop feeding the people who depended on that supply, including 10 children and his wife. In March 2012, Defort and Ferris sent a letter to judge Guy Reynolds requesting a revocation of Vernon Hershbergers release order, based on the states contention that Hershberger was violating terms of the release. The judge, in a court hearing in Baraboo, refused to hear the request, telling the prosecutors that he only responded to motions, not to letters. The prosecutors never followed up with a motion . . . until more than 14 months later just after the jury acquittal. The motion was filed the morning of Friday, May 31, 2013. On June 3 at 1:00 p.m. there will be a telephone conference to set a date for sentencing on the hold order conviction. At that time DOJ will request a revocation of the January 2012 order releasing Hershberger, i.e. extra retroactive jail time. (see update below) An interesting take and conversation on the recent developments appears at Gumperts blog, The Complete Patient. Also check outFarm Food Freedom Coalition For additional background on the case: WI Case: Vernon Hershberger or VernonHershberger.com Original press release:Wisconsin Aims to Jail Amish Farmer Background stories from most recent to earliest: 