SD Man Pleads Not Guilty In Hutterite Dispute
by Associated Press
June 01, 2012 8:22 AM
A man accused of chasing a security guard with a front-end loader at a Hutterite colony in South Dakota that has been embroiled in controversy has pleaded not guilty.
Twenty-two-year-old Raymond Waldner is charged with aggravated assault in the April 3 incident. He is accused of driving the loader at a worker for a private security firm hired by one of two disputing factions at the colony.
The two groups are at odds over which branch of the Hutterite religion to follow and have been battling in recent years over control of the colony near Stratford.
Waldner could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. A condition of his bond bars him from living at the colony while his case proceeds.
