dwrarn girl power bursting through behind me. >> oh, my god. well, snaz good to hear. you've got company in your office all day long, and it's my daughter. >> kim is there all day long. >> i'm going to get you a beach towel. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. >> kris, it's been a pleasure. >> thank you. >> it's a large one, please. >> thank you. that's all for us tonight. "ac 360" starts right now. without a kim kardashian beach without a kim kardashian beach towel. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com we begin tonight with breaking news in the herman cain story but it's hard know where to begin tonight, so much has happened in the last few hours. the attorney for one of two women alleging sexual harassment by cain when he ran the national restaurant association met with his client tonight. they talked strategy and discussed whether or not she'll come forward. also the a.p. is reporting a third woman has emerged telling her story alleging sexual harassment by mr. cain when she worked for him at the national restaurant association. if that weren't enough, we're also learning details of one of the first two incidents, one of the two that ended in financial settlements and confidentiality agreements. they come from chris wilson, a former restaurant association

colleague who witnessed he says one of the incidents and spoke about it today to gloria borger and cnn affiliate ktok. >> at the time she was a very low-level staffer. i think she was maybe two years out of college. and this all occurred at a restaurant in crystal city. and everybody was very aware of it. and so it is -- it was only a matter of time because so many people were aware of what took place. so many people were aware of her situation, the fact that she left after this. that it was -- it was a -- everybody knew with the campaign that it would eventually come up. >> chris wilson, we should point out, is a rick perry supporter. gloriaworther asked him about that. she joins us shortly. we'll talk to her for details. again. that's not all, though. on top of all that, though, according to forbes.com, cain is now blaming another campaign operative, a 2004 campaign adviser who's now working for rick perry, for sparking this whole mess. but keeping them honest, cain's accusation directly contradicts his own statements about not

recalling any sexual harassment allegations or settlements. we're going to lay all of that out. but the day began with the conservative front-runner not wanting to talk about any of this anymore. >> let me say one thing. i'm here with these doctors, and that's what i'm going to talk about. so don't even bother asking me all of these other questions that you all are curious about. okay? don't even bother. >> it's a good question, though. >> but are you concerned about the fact that these women do want to -- want to come forward? >> what did i say? >> are you concerned about -- >> excuse me. excuse me! >> step aside, please. >> did you have any -- >> what part of "no" don't you understand? >> well, there was some pushing, shoving no, answers from the candidates. the questions that began on sunday when the politico story hit, detailing at least two incidents of alleged sexual harassment in the late '90s, when herman cain ran the national restaurant association. today possible corroboration on the at least angle.

a third nra employee spoke to the associated press. according to the a.p., she said the behavior included a "private invitation to his corporate apartment. the report goes on to say that the unnamed woman says cain made sexually suggestive remarks or gestures." here's the cain campaign's response 37 "mr. cain has said over the past two days at public events that we could see other baseless allegations made against him as this appalling smear campaign continues." the statement goes on, "he has never acted in the way alleged by inside-the-beltway media, and his distinguished record over 40 years spent climbing the corporate ladder speaks for itself." and we should point out this third accuser did not file a formal complaint. now, according to the a.p., she says this happened at about the same time those two other women did file complaints. they're the two featured in the in politico's story on sunday, the story you'll remember that cain had a ten-day warning on but no answer to at first. then the next day his memory suddenly seemed to come back.

>> if the restaurant association did a settlement, i am not -- i wasn't even aware of it and i hope it wasn't for much because nothing happened. >> i am unaware of any sort of settlement. >> i was aware that an agreement was reached. >> he attributed his earlier lack of recall to how long ago this happened and confusion over being asked about settlements when he understood them to be in his words, agreements. yet today, talking to a writer at forbes magazine, he himself blew a big chunk of his own hazy memory excuse to bits. he says during his 2004 georgia senate campaign he told a consultant kurt anderson that a sexual harassment complaint had been brought against him when he ran the n rachlt. "it was a typical campaign conversation. i told him that there was only one case, one set of charges, one woman while i was at the national restaurant association." that conversation happened in 2003. monday morning and afternoon he had no memory of the incident at

all. then he did but was confused. so did he forget it between 2003 and monday, something that back then he remembered and told his political adviser because he saw it as a potential liability? that adviser, kurt anderson-s now a perry adviser, something the xacain people are pointing as evidence of a smear. it's confusing, i know. joining us is chief analyst gloria borger and senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin. gloria, you just got off the phone with the attorney for one of cain's accusers. who we spoke to last night. >> right. >> what did he tell you? what's the latest? >> this evening he's not speaking with us. he's speaking with his client. he's meeting with her. and she's the one who 12 years ago alleged sexual harassment against herman cain. and he told me that it is likely he will ask the restaurant association to allow his client to issue a statement under his name, without her name, to issue a statement saying that she vehemently denies cain's remarks

and that she was sexually harass the, and he believes he needs permission from the restaurant association because he doesn't -- he wants to get an agreement from them that this would not be construed as a violation of her confidentiality agreement. >> but he's already said that. he said that on the program last night. are you saying that he would go farther in a statement, though? >> well, i think that she feels she needs to issue an explicit statement. i asked him how much detail would be in it. he did not know. but this is what he did say to me. he said, "she doesn't want to become another anita hill. that's not her interest or her expectation. she would like to put this behind her. she put it behind her 12 years ago. she's not a publicity seeker. she's happily married and has a good job." so it's clear she wants to set the record straight, but it seems like she doesn't want to go in in front of the cameras. >> you also talked to chris wilson, the former pollster for

the national restaurant association, who says he witnessed cain sexually harassing an employee. did he tell you cain was inappropriate with this woman? >> well, all he would do is confirm essentially what you played at the top of the show, which was his interview. but in that interview it was very clear that he believed what she did -- what he did was inappropriate. and he also said that, you know, everybody knew with the campaign that this would eventually come out. and one other point, anderson, i raised the question with him, obviously, of whether he was politically motivated, and he would say this on the record to me because he does run a political action committee independent from the campaign of rick perry but he supports rick perry. so it's an obvious question to ask, and he said, "i had nothing to do with leaking this in any way, and i've never discussed or shared the story with any of my clients, period." >> it was interesting, though, chris wilson, what he said --

and i want to get the exact wording -- >> uh-huh. >> he said this occurred at a restaurant in crystal city and everyone was very aware of it. >> right. >> i'm not sure if that means people witnessed it and thought it was inappropriate at the time, that means that they were aware of it, or just that word was out in the national restaurant association that this had occurred. >> right. and we really don't know. but if everyone was aware of it, you can only surmise that people were talking about it maybe the next day at the office or that it became a topic of conversation. and believe me, we're following up on this radio interview. >> so jeff, now a third woman has accused cain of sexual harassment in an interview with the associated press. you say there's a big difference between this accusation and the other two that there was a settlement for. >> right. just because a woman says something to the associated press, i mean, that is of not great importance. what makes the two that politico originally reported on so important and so significant is that the national restaurant

association paid these women money. that suggests something went on, enough either to settle the case or it was perhaps just nuisance money to get rid of it. >> right. >> but paying money is very different from simply a blank accusation. >> but people settle and pay money just to make things go away in lawsuits all the time. >> they do. >> it's more expensive to go through the litigation than it is to just pay a couple of tens of thousands of dollars. >> that's true. and that may be what happened here. that is certainly a possibility. but the fact that money changed hands following a sexual harassment allegation is of an order of magnitude a lot more significant and worthy of investigation than somebody saying to the associated press this guy did something wrong. >> gloria, it seems unless one of these women comes forward and puts a face on, this where does this go? because if you just have some press release from this woman's attorney -- >> right. >> -- i mean, cain supporters will say look, this is terribly

unfair. how do you argue against a phantom, somebody who's not showing themselves? >> i would argue that at some point you've covered a lot of these stories, as have i and jeff. at some point i think you kind of have to assume that the story will come out. the full story will come out. and maybe herman cain will tell the story. and maybe the restaurant association will release a report and its documentation. maybe herman cain will ask for that to be released. and maybe in the end the women will say okay, release our names. i mean, you know, it's very hard to predict. >> right. where it's going to go. >> what's going to happen. i mean, this is very incremental. but i think the fact that she wants to issue any kind of a statement means that she's clearly upset with what she has heard mr. cain saying. >> yeah. >> it's certainly understandable that she doesn't want her name dragged through the mud. but a piece of paper issued by her lawyer, as you point out, that's really unfair to herman cain. i mean, how is he supposed to respond to that? that is not a fair airing of the

issue. that's simply attacking him blindly and, you know, we shouldn't -- that's not something that should resolve this issue at all. >> right. jeff toobin, i've got to leave it there. gloria borger as well. want to dig deeper with tea party organizer and big journalism.com editor dana loesch, also "washington post" right turn columnist jennifer rubin and democratic strategist james carville. dana, for the cain campaign their most recent response to this is basically to call -- is for a call for the perry campaign and politico to apologize. they're clearly trying to shift the blame. do you think that's going to work? >> i don't think it's going to work. in fact, i think what this is going to do -- it's going to backfire with the cain campaign immediately. this is something that they tried to avoid. now that they have all of these, like you were saying earlier, it's very interesting that herman cain said monday that he had no knowledge or -- as soon as these ak saugss came out monday that he he had no knowledge at all of any kind of

settlement, and yet today the story came out that, well, he actually did talk to kurt anderson and they discussed it in detail. their words, not mine. so he opens the door to awful these questions. and i think it's just going to -- i think it's just going toned up being bad for him. and i am very interested in seeing his polling numbers from quinnipiac and everything else today to how this translates later on, how this is going to affect him. i just think -- this is a bad move. this was sloppy. and the cain campaign has been handling this in a very sloppy fashion. >> jennifer rubin, obviously to dana's point, the cain campaign has been making a lot of missteps the last few days. the question is, are they doing anything right here? >> not that i can see. first of all, they have attacked conservatives and it sort of steps on his excuse. remember, up until today his excuse was that this was some kind of liberal conspiracy to get rid of a black conservative. well, how does rick perry fit into that scheme? and just about everything he

does pours oil on the flames here. what you didn't mention was that mark block was actually one of the individuals who tipped politico off to yet another incident. and this concerns an iowa talk show host, who says that cain came into his studio and made some inappropriate comments to his employees. so it just seems that the cain campaign, i don't imagine they're doing this intentionally, but they just seem to be building and building and building and making this worse every single day. >> james carville, you put out a share of fires in your time. what do you make -- how do you assess all this? >> i'm glad i'm not in the middle of this. assessed it povls cain was not telling the truth when he said that. obviously, this came from perry. who benefits by it? perry does. any detective in the world would say -- i shouldn't say obviously. he was the most likely suspect by far. no democrat would leak this. >> why do you say no democrat? because at this point they would hold on to it? >> a democrat doesn't want to get rid of cain right now. i mean, come on, get real.

and it was all a bunch of -- >> some of these charges maybe some women felt like they were sexually harassed. maybe cain didn't feel like he sexually harassed them. this stuff doesn't have a clear-cut definition. we find out one of these women was paid $35,000. as senator graham points out after you take out attorney's fees that's not a heck of a lot of money. but sure cain, not telling the truth. sure perry's behind this. if i was perry i don't blame him for being behind it. he's got to do something and he gains from it. >> but james, where do you think this goes? if it's true to gloria's reporting that the lawyer's just thinking about having this woman release a statement, not coming forward, does that end it? >> i don't know. it probably just ends under its own weight and people will know that he wasn't candid coming out of the chute. people will know something happened. they won't know the whole truth. they'll make a judgment on it. look, in terms of these things, this is a kind of category 3.

i've been through category 5. but the idea that perry wasn't behind this, if not him then who? the restaurant association? they look terrible in this. the democrats? they don't want to get rid of cain. obviously it's not romney. so if it's not perry give me a suspect. >> i know you've got to -- we've got to take a quick break. but we're going to have more with you and jennifer and james on the other side of the break. joining us, let us know what you think, we're on facebook, follow me on twitter @andersoncooper. tweet me tonight you who think is involved in it or what you think of it. more on the cain story. we'll talk tower o'panel. especially the canned's surprising showing in the polls. we'll see if that continues and what effect if any this has. also a very explosive video that exploded on youtube. whether you're a parent or not this video is going to stop you in your tracks. this shows a texas judge, a family judge, beating his disabled daughter with a belt. there's new fallout tonight. we'll show you some of this video. frankly, it's really too disturbing to show you much of it.

we're going to show you the story behind it, though. first of all, let's check in with isha sesay, who's back. isha, you're back. >> i'm back, anderson. i missed you. >> i missed you too. >> yeah, absence makes the heart grow fonder. a strange story out of ohio to tell but. four amish men have been victims of beard-cutting attacks. that's right, beard-cutting atacks. tonight we have new information about the men accused of the attacks and the strange sect it's believed they belong to. gary tuchman's crime and punishment investigation when "360" continues. i was taking a multivitamin... but my needs changed... i wanted support for my heart... and now i get it from centrum specialist heart.

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23%. newt gingrich in third. the poll was taken october 323rd through 391st. the numbers done yet accuse the news this week. back with our panel, jennifer rubin, james carville and dana loesch. dana, i know you wanted to comment before we went to break. but do you think these charges could actually help cain, the sense among some conservatives that he's being victimized by the media or by other campaigns? >> i think to an tent. there's two quick points that i want to make concerning this. i think in the beginning there was an absolute racial aspect to a lot of the media attacks on herman cain. you had people calling him an uncle tom in the "new york times." they were referring to him as being a minstrel. i mean, it goes on and on. so there definitely has been a racial aspect to this. however, i think that's separate from what is happening right now with the way that the cain campaign is handling this. i think mark block was reckless and irresponsible to go on national television and say without a shred of proof that rick perry is responsible for leaking this. they had no proof -- >> mark block, the chief of staff for kahn. >> chief of staff. sorry.

one man on the restaurant association board was a perry donor. there's also donors on that board who donate to mitt romney as well. in fact, we could play the game that, well, maybe mitt romney is behind this. there's definitely a lot of speculation. i myself had had questions about whether or not herman cain's a stalking horse for mitt romney. to say that perry is behind this, it could very easily be said that romney's behind this. cain endorsed phenomenonry in 2008. he didn't attack him in any debates. we do go on and on. to say that rick perry is behind this -- >> let me give you some facts. i actually spoke to the perry campaign on the way over and i said do you have any facts tying mitt romney to this? because they did throw that out. and they said other than the fact one of the guys was on the board, no. so i asked is this the same as your being accused by the cain campaign as being the source of this, i got no response. so i think this is an effort -- >> jennifer, what do you make of

those that say race played a role in this early on? that's what dana just said. >> i don't think race played any role in the allegations. this was a legitimate story. mr. cain brought it on himself. and i find it very peculiar, frankly, that a lot of conservatives, particularly on the talk show circuit, would play the race card, would say that mr. cain's not responsible for all this, there's some giant plot out there to get him because he's a black conservative. there's no evidence of that. this has now been essentially -- >> "new york times." >> -- admitted by the cain campaign, the central facts that politico reported. so i think this is a mess of his own making. >> what are the facts that politico's reported? politico's reported a bunch of hearsay from women who are nameless. >> no. cain has confirmed it. cain said yes there, were settlements,er, he was accused. >> what are the gestures? there's gestures, there's harassment. it's hyperbole. >> at this point we don't know the details because so far these people have not -- >> right. >> -- come forward to say it. >> james, i see you laughing. what's going on?

>> well, what can i respond? cain is a stalking horse for romney but yet romney leaked it on cain. please. of course it's perry. 9 guy worked with -- excuse me. >> one at a time. >> the idea that we're going to sit here on an intelligent television network and say that cain is romney's stalking horse but yet romney leaked this when in fact the guy who works for perry's super pac is the one calling the press and saying gee, i never told anybody. i mean, come on, this is not the way that politics works. and it doesn't -- >> you're being unfair right now. >> that doesn't make any sense. >> do you believe there was ever race involved in this? >> no. no. >> let me raise a point here. >> perry people are trying understandably, i don't blame them -- why do you think this guy from oklahoma that worked for all these perry contributors? you don't think he called him and said hey, i'm going to help you guys out? >> he worked for romney too.

>> my -- >> he worked for romney in 2008. >> okay. one at a time because i've got to tell you no one listens when people just jump in over each other. jennifer, what were you going to say? then we've got to go. >> who cares? the facts are the facts. what is the signature issue here and what is the point for voters to assess is first of all, does he have a serial problem? there's a lot of people coming out of the woodworks. and secondly, what does this tell him about him? is he ready for prime time? has he done anything right in the last few days? and this is of course the other problem he has, which is he's guilty of serial ignorance. the chinese he's discovered is trying to get the bomb. oh, my. ever since 1964. he can't remember his own tax plan. he's wishy-washy on abortion. he's a walking disaster. and i think the voters and the electorate for the iowa and new hampshire and early primary states should take a look at that and say is this the guy we want to go with? it's good and well to say someone else leaked it but what difference does it make? he's the candidate. >> we've got to leave it there. dana loesch, jennifer rubin, james carville.

appreciate it. turning to a disturbing story out of text, a shocking video surfacing on youtube showing a county judge beating his daughter. it was shot years ago, just being released. the police investigating -- the police investigation is just getting started. we have the latest on this. really, you should see this. plus the syrian government signaling it is ready toned the brutal crackdown on its own people? this coming from the government. this isn't the first time the assad regime made similar promises. ahead, why a deal announced today could mean this time may be different. but not holding my breath. and members of a breakaway amish sect launching a string of humiliating attacks on other amish members. mainstream members. we're talking about beard cutting, hair cutting. strange stuff. gary tuchman's investigation when we continue. [ man ] i got this citi thank you card and started earning loads of points. you got a weather balloon with points? yes, i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything. ♪

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up close tonight, new developments in a story that's just exploded online. in the last 24 hours this man, william adams, a county judge in texas, has become the focus of a police investigation apparently triggered by his own daughter. today judge adams agreed to temporarily step down from his duties. last week a woman who identified herself as his daughter, hillary adams, posted an extremely disturbing video on youtube. it has gone viral in just the last couple of days. the video was allegedly shot on a webcam seven years ago by hillary, who was then 16 years old. the video shows judge adams beating her with a belt and cursing at her for disobeying him. we're going to show you a short clip, and we warn you, it is not easy to watch. >> bend over that bed. >> dad. >> bend over that bed.

bend over the bed. bend over the bed! >> stop. stop. >> bend over the bed. >> on your [ bleep ] face. roll over. [ bleep ]. >> stop. >> we showed you just 24 seconds of that video. the full video lasts for 7 1/2 minutes. it goes on and on. the mother gets involved as well. and then the father comes back and continues to hit her with a belt. martin savidge joins me now. martin, we've been doing a lot of reporting over the last couple weeks with gary tuchman on the series on godly discipline. and it's interesting to hear him. he keeps using the word spank. he is whipping her with that belt. the father has acknowledged that it was him in this video, hasn't he? >> he has indeed. that was the first thing that came out today. a number of things, actually. naturally this has sparked outrage not only on the internet but also in the real world. and judge adams here is a family

court judge. that's something else to keep in mind as you listen and watch that horrible -- >> so he's determining how other families should govern themselves. he's determining what happens with other families when he's doing this. it's fascinating. >> exactly. which is why so many people find this not only physically sickening but also very egregious with the job that he holds. so here's what's happened. he's agreed with the district attorney that he's going to step down from his job for at least two weeks. another judge is going to take over for a while. two investigations have begun. now, we point out that the first thing the investigation's going to want to do is verify is the video real? well, it would appear that judge adams has done that himself. he spoke to a texas affiliate, k.r.i.s. here's what he said. >> in my mind i haven't done anything wrong other than discipline my child after she was caught stealing. and i did lose my temper. but i've since apologized. it looked worse than it is. there is a story. it'll come out in due time. okay? >> so you do acknowledge, though, that that's you in the video? >> yeah, absolutely. it's me. >> meanwhile, the judge's office has just been flooded.

this is aranzas county, text. they've been flooded with phone calls and almost every one of them has been threatening against the judge himself. >> do we have any information as to why his daughter would post the video now many years after the incident? >> right. 2004 is when this allegedly happened. and of course it comes out now, what, seven years later. she was 16 then. hillary, which is hillary adams is the woman. is now 23. apparently, she says and her mother also says that the father has been carrying out physical and verbal abuse, mental abuse against them for years. recently she was on the phone with her father. hillary says he was once again going on her verbally and she just says she had enough, she had this video, she kept it, she posted it. interestingly enough now she has been shocked by the outcome and she regrets that she actually posted that video. >> has law enforcement given any idea what the repercussions from it might be? >> well, there are some problems with this. first and foremost of course, 2004, which means the laws have changed a lot since then. then there's the statute of limitations. not quite clear yet whether he

can actually be charged with anything. what would it be? child abuse? well, if there were any welts or anything like that, they've of course healed over time. child endangerment? maybe. but again, we don't know exactly if there is a statute of limitation that comes into play here. also keep in mind it's texas. texas there are a lot of people who believe in corporal punishment down there. there are a lot of factors that weigh in here. however, he's an elected official. he would face re-election in another three years. are people going to remember this video? it is hard to forget. there's no doubt about that. >> yeah. we'll continue to follow it. appreciate it, martin savidge. thanks. there's a lot more to follow tonight. isha's back with the "360" news and business bulletin. isha? anderson, a deal announced today could signal the syrian government is ready to end moves violence against its own people. the arab league says president bashar al assad's regime agreed to remove troops from the streets and release political prisoners. for the first time international journalists and the arab league will be allowed to monitor the

progress. greece's cabinet voting unanimously for a national referendum on the eu bailout plan. the countries prime minister shocked the world by making it a condition for the deal meant to stabilize the country's debt crisis. no date is set for the vote. and anderson, take a look at this. it may look like the end of a movie chase scene, but this is what really happened when a car sheared off a fire hydrant in san diego. the force of the water lifting the back of the car, as you see, until crews removed it. isn't that crazy? >> that is crazy. >> yeah, that put me off driving for life. my driving's bad enough as it is. >> well, drive on the wrong side of the road. we'll check back with you a little bit later, isha. coming up, a much more serious story in a quiet corner of ohio an unthinkable crime spree that's shattered an manyish community's sense of safety. most bizarre of all, the attackers are armed with scissors and clippers, and they're other amish. >> it's very degrading to an amish man. the one amish man said he'd

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in "crime and punishment," a series of attacks is unexpected as they are bizarre, and the federal investigation that's now bringing unwanted attention to a community that cherishes its privacy, the amish. in a normally quiet corner of

ohio these five men have been arrested on kidnapping and burglary charges. all five are believed to belong to an amish sect that many mainstream amish consider a cult. the victims of their alleged kriemts were also amish. now, to outsiders the details of the story can sound really strange, maybe even trivial. authorities say the suspects were armed with scissors and battery-operated clippers when they attacked. their intent was to humiliate their victims by maiming a core symbol of their faith. gary tuchman investigates. >> reporter: in rural eastern ohio the amish have lived for generations in peace and solitude. but recently, in the middle of the night, an amish woman in this house, arlene miller, called 911. >> carroll county 911. >> we have terrorists here, somebody is terrorizing us. >> and then her husband myron took the phone. >> i opened my door and asked what do you want. the one guy who reached in grabbed me by my beard and pulled me out. >> reporter: grabbed him by his

beard and started to cut it off. myron miller is one of at least four amish men in ohio who have been victims of bizarre beard-cutting attacks. that's right, beard-cutting attacks. fred abdallah is the sheriff in jefferson county, ohio. >> it's very degrading to an amish man. the one amishman said he'd rather die than have his beard cut off. that's how bad that is. >> reporter: myron miller was attacked by five men. he escaped before his entire beard was cut. he talked, but like many amish who don't like publicity, did not want to face the camera. >> it doesn't make sense to us, either. why somebody would just start cutting beards, you know, terrorize people. >> reporter: myron miller's wife did not want her face on camera at all. >> there we go. okay. this is my first time putting a horse on a buggy. >> reporter: but she did offer to take me on a horse and buggy ride to talk about the fear in the community. >> amish people aren't used to being scared.

it's such a peaceful lifestyle, right? >> we never are scared before this happened. but now that this has happened, we're locking our doors. >> reporter: and this is who they say they're trying to keep out. these amish men, who were arrested in connection with the beard-cutting case of myron miller. this was a court hearing for three of the five men arrested. they are all now free, out on bond. but the sheriff says the men were ordered to do the beard cuttings by one particular man. >> i've dealt with a lot of amish. they're just beautiful people. but i can't compare sam mullet to the ones that i have met. >> reporter: sam mullet is the bishop of a breakaway amish sect that's in a deep rift with the mainstream amish, who say he's dangerously manipulative over his flock. but why the beard cutting? it's a profound insult to the amish. and mullet's followers have allegedly used it as a weapon who punish people who might have insulted them. three of the men arrested are sons of sam mullet. >> he's a domineering individual. nothing moves in that community without him saying it's okay.

he calls all of the shots. they're literally scared to death of him. and i've said that he is a cult leader over the years because they will do anything he tells them to do. the one said he would die for their father. that's how severely he has them brainwashed. >> reporter: so we went to the tiny town of bergholz, ohio in search of sam mullet. and we found him. he wasn't very pleased to see us. >> if the sheriff says you're a cult, what's your response to that? >> we're not a cult. >> but did you -- have you order men to cut people's beards off? >> i did not order anything. >> reporter: but sam mullet does not deny that his sons or the other men committed the attacks. >> they do what they think is right. and yeah, i could have probably said you're not going to do this. and maybe they wouldn't have right then. but sooner or later it would have happened anyway. >> reporter: why do you think these people had their beards cut off? >> we're getting in too deep. it's too long a story. it goes way back. i'm just not interested. >> reporter: do you think those

people did something wrong? >> i'm telling you i'm not interested. can you hear me? >> reporter: to myron miller's wife, arlene, who later decided she would appear on camera, there's no doubt who's behind the attacks. >> who do you believe is responsible for all this? >> sam. sam mullet. >> reporter: she says sam mullet is angry at her family because her family helped one of mullet's sons leave his father's group. >> if they ever do arrest him and he comes out, he's able to get out on bond, he's not going to go down easy. >> reporter: sam mullet hasn't been arrested. but authorities say they're building a case against him. >> i can't take any chances with this guy. >> reporter: meanwhile, no arrests have been made in another case. an amish woman was victimized by a hair-cutting attack. amish women consider their hair to be god's glory. the police report stating "the victim removed her bandanna and revealed several patches of hair missing." the sheriff says mullet is behind that attack. and now the federal government has decided to get involved. >> the fbi is now investigating the situation. what's your feeling about that?

>> we're not guilty. so i have nothing to hide. if they want to come and check us out, we'd be glad to see them here. >> reporter: sam mullet claims people have a vendetta against him, that he just wants his people to be left alone, and that he is the righteous one. >> people that are spreading lies around about us and the way they're treating us by getting the sheriff, getting the law and everything, are asking for a big punishment from the man up above. >> gary, this is so fascinating this is happening, you know, in the united states in this day and age. how did the amish attackers get away? >> reporter: well, this is another intriguing part of the story. most of us know that amish people are not supposed to drive cars. well, the fact is they can't be behind the wheel. but they're allowed to be in cars if they hire a driver. and they often hire a driver. so in these particular cases we're told from the sheriff they had a hired driver take them to each of these houses. but the sheriff says the hired driver did not know what was going on, has not been charged way crime, just dropped them off at the house, and they ended up taking these men out of their

house, holding them down, using the scissors, cutting off the beards, hopping back in the car, and driving off. >> and we still don't know -- well, it's fascinating. i'm amazed you were able to get everybody to talk on camera, too. >> reporter: i mean, one of the things we told the victim was we understand that amish people are very private and don't like to talk to outsiders. but this would be a much more effective story if you're able to go on camera and talk to us. and we said the same thing to sam mullet. we said we have a lot of accusations against you, we're going to do the story either way, and he ultimately decided to spend about a half an hour with us talking with us. >> gary, appreciate the reporting. thanks. donald craybell joins me now. he's a sociologist and professor at elizabethtown college in pennsylvania and the author of several books about the amish. thanks for being with us. amish on amish crime is virtually unheard of. is beard cutting a common form of discipline? >> no. i have never, anderson, heard about beard cutting before as a form of discipline. this is just unheard of,

malicious behavior. and this sam mullet is a cult leader. he fits perfectly the sociological definition of a cult. he left the mainstream community about 15 years ago. he was a provocative person at that point. moved 100 miles east to jefferson county, to a remote area. and he basically operates alone. he's not in fellowship or working with other groups. so he's invincible. amish people have said he thinks he's a prophet. and doing whatever he wants to. >> and what is his problem with the other amish? >> his problem with the other amish is that all of the men whose beard was cut are bishops who have spoken out publicly against him, against his malicious behavior, and so he's angry about that. and this is a form of retaliation back against those church leaders who have spoken out because they perceive him to

be very dangerous and they're worried about the dangerous of children and adults in his little cult. >> and the amish are pass fisci. so any kind of violence, against men, against women, is particularly shocking for other amish people. >> they clearly are pacifist. and all of his behavior, much of his malicious behavior the last several years is a direct contradiction, a direct violation of basic amish teaching and amish practices and amish convictions. so that's why amish people say he's not one of us, he's not amish, and he's running his own little operation in a cult-like style, off in this remote area of jefferson county. >> it's -- i just find it fascinating. professor kraybill, i really appreciate you joining us tonight. thank you. >> my pleasure. up next on the program, in court today -- well, this is a bizarre transition. lindsay lohan. admitting she violated her probation. the judge sending her back to

jail. details on that. plus, one of our favorite rapture forecasters gets the math wrong again. but tonight it's the end time haters who are on the "riduculist." we'll explain. ♪ she bought a pizza party for her whole dorm floor ♪ ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪ ♪ and a ticket down to spring break in mexico ♪ ♪ but her folks didn't know 'cause her folks didn't go ♪ ♪ to free-credit-score-dot-com hard times for daddy and mom. ♪ offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™.

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[ chorus ] ♪ we are farmers bum-ba-dum, ba-bum-bum-bum ♪ will be giving away passafree copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. anderson's back in a moment. first, a "360" bulletin. a federal jury today convicted former soviet air officer viktor bout of arms dealing and conspiring to kill americans. once known as a merchant of death he could face life in prison when he's sentenced in february. in gainesville, georgia four

alleged militia members charged with plotting to bomb and poison government officials appeared in court today. they were arrested yesterday after allegedly describing the plot to an fbi informant. and a los angeles judge has sentenced lindsay lohan to 30 days in jail for violating her probation on a necklace theft conviction. lohan was ordered to report to jail next week. anderson? erin burnett "outfront" at 11:00. what's up? >> we're going to be talking to republican presidential candidate newt gingrich tonight. he's been jumping in the polls. 3% a couple months ago. now he's up to 10%. we're going to talk about his plan to fix the american economy. and also, he's going to weigh in on whether another campaign really leaked these allegations of sexual harassment about herman cain. he calls a campaign that would do that a pariah, the act repulsive. you're going to hear from newt gingrich tonight. plus, we're going to talk about four militiamen in georgia who wanted to target federal buildings, were willing to put a

biological toxic agent called ricin out on the highways. we're going to find out exactly who these men were. anderson, it's really going to surprise you when you actually see them, hear about them. we've got that coming up. in the next hour. back to you. >> erin, thanks very much. look forward to it. ahead on the program, our favorite end of world predictor gets it wrong again. but we still have faith. so all you rapture haters, we're saving a place for you on the "riduculist" next. tions. congratulations. today, the city of charlotte can use verizon technology to inspire businesses to conserve energy and monitor costs. making communities greener... congratulations. ... and buildings as valuable to the bottom line... whoa ! ... as the people inside them. congratulations. because when you add verizon to your company, you don't just add, you multiply. ♪ discover something new... verizon.

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time now for the

"riduculist." and tonight we're adding all you rapture doubters out there. yeah, that's right. anderson cooper's getting biblical. and apparently talking about himself in the third person. not sure why. we'll stop that right now. so here's the deal. you might remember that back in the spring a man named harold camping who runs a christian broadcasting network called family radio announced to anyone who would listen, which turned out to be like the entire world's press corps, that he had learned through study of the bible that the end of the earth, the rapture, the destruction of all living things, would occur on may 21st. and hey, spoiler alert, it didn't. which was great because the next morning i had a really good bagel. anyway, a few days later mr. camping held a news conference to say that while the world did not end the wheels of the rapture were indeed in motion. listen. >> on may 21, 2011 we didn't feel any difference. we didn't see any difference in the world. but we know from the bible that god brought judgment day to bear on the whole world. the whole world is under

judgment day. and this is it right here. and it will continue right up until october 21, 2011. and at that time the whole world will be destroyed. >> a lot of beige going on in that office. anyway, what's with him changing the date? >> we aren't changing a date at all. we're just learning that we have to be looking at all of this a little bit more spiritual. but it won't be spiritual on october 21 because the bible clearly teaches that then the world is going to be destroyed altogether. and -- but it will be very quick. >> look, i'm not going to lie. it bummed me out a little bit because october 21st was a friday. i really wanted to go see "paranormal activity 3" that night and the rapture kind of conflicted with that. but lucky me and, let's face it, it's all about me, i work in television there, was no rapture on october 21st. now, harold camping is now speaking out on his radio

network, discussing why his latest prediction went bust. >> and when it comes to trying to recognize the truth of prophecy, we're finding that it is very, very passedhe buck to god, doesn't it? i don't doubt mr. camping is a devout man but i'm pretty sure god didn't call that press conference. but here's the thing, rapture doubters. mr. camping is not done yet. oh, no. >> amongst other things i have been checking my own notes more carefully than ever, and i do find that there is other language in the bible that we still have to look at very carefully and will impinge upon thue