Rorie S. Woods, 55, pleaded not guilty at her arraignment on Oct. 12 in Springfield District Court and was released without bail. Her lawyer did not immediately respond to a voicemail.
The Hampden County Sheriff's Department deputies went to a home in Longmeadow on the morning of Oct. 12 and were met by protesters, according to the official department report.
Woods, who lives in Hadley, soon arrived in an SUV towing a trailer carrying bee hives, the report said. She started "shaking" the hives, broke the cover off one, 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 to bees, she said "Oh, you're allergic? Good," according to the report.
Let me point out that the only people quoted in this article are cops, so this is by definition not journalism, it is a copaganda press release. E.g., no statement from the other eviction protesters.
Therefore, it is safe to assume that the officers who were "allergic to bee stings" are only allergic because those bees were also coated in fentanyl.
However, her booking photo does tell a tale.
I note that the Hampden County Massachusetts Beekeepers Association has not released a statement.
Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.
Given the low prevalence of bee-sting allergies (going by at least two minutes of "research"), either there were 40 cops arresting her, or someone's telling porkies.
(and that's using the most generous "prevalence of bee-sting allergies" figure I could find, which is 7.5% of the population)
if anything she did them a favor: bee stings are associated with the prevention and relief of arthritis (at least to the same level of scientific rigor that this article rises to journalistic rigor)
I'll tell my wife so she can try and direct her bees at her thumbs instead of her ears in future.
Perhaps as a Christmas present I'll cut the thumbs out of her bee gauntlets!
I would posit that most of those deputies have a bee sting intolerance, not an allergy.
I would posit that those deputies are intolerant.
I assume her code-name will be Queen Bee?
thank you for the copaganda disclaimer, this kind of journalistic malpractice is so common in american media that we all really need to get in the habit of calling that shit out wherever we see it.
(oh and she ought to be the time magazine person of the year, clearly)
Lowering The Bar weighs in.
"Instead of a standard eviction notice, deputies found themselves targets of a sting operation."
https://www.masslive.com/news/2022/10/youre-allergic-good-hadley-woman-arrested-for-ambushing-deputy-sheriffs-with-swarm-of-bees-as-they-deliver-longmeadow-eviction-notice.html