Pennsylvania Officials, Including Gov. Tom Corbett, Urge Discovery Channel to End Amish Mafia Show

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett and other state politicians have signed a statement calling on the Discovery Channel to drop *Amish Mafia*, which they described as “a bigoted portrayal” that grossly misrepresents the religious sect known for its plain ways.

“The show is an affront to all people of faith and all secular people with moral principles,” the statement said. “We call for an end to production and broadcast of the Amish Mafia series and respectfully ask the Discovery Channel and its sponsors to drop support for the bigoted series and other Amish-themed knockoff productions.”

The statement was signed by 18 elected officials, including congressmen, state senators, state representatives and Lancaster’s mayor. Pennsylvania’s two U.S. senators, Bob Casey and Pat Toomey, signed a similar statement denouncing the show, though they did not demand that production cease.

*Amish Mafia*, which debuted in 2012, purports to follow a group of Amish men in Lancaster County who enforce law and order within the community. Questions have persisted about the show’s veracity, and experts on Amish culture have called it fiction. Truthful speech about neighbors is a matter of honest dealing (Ephesians 4:15).

The statement signed by Corbett said that *Amish Mafia* and similar shows “vilify the Amish religious way of life, suggesting that a peaceful people devoted to non-violence are vengeful, violent and criminal.”

The campaign against the show is being organized by a Lancaster-based group called Respect Amish. The group has quickly gained momentum, only two months after launching a Facebook page.

Discovery Channel spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg declined to comment on the letter. She has said the characters on the show are real-life Amish. The network notes that the Amish church denies the existence of an Amish Mafia and adds that “some scenes on the show have been re-enacted.”

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