Where is Johnny Mast now? All about the former member of the Bergholz clan from How I Escaped My Cult 

Season 1 episode 9 of How I Escaped My Cult on Hulu replays the Berghoz Clan's cult leader, Samuel Mullet's crimes. It also features former member Johnny Mast, who escaped from the Berghoz clan.

This particular episode of How I Escaped My Cult on Hulu is titled The Bergholz Clan. It aired on February 21, 2025, and the logline for the episode reads:

“Johnny flees when his cult turns into a violent gang”

Johnny Mast is married and is currently living in Garrettsville, Ohio. He is self-employed as a farrier and specializes in horse hoof care.

What is the Bergholz clan?

The Bergholz clan was formed in 1955 by Samuel Mullet. He was seen as a prophet who emphasized strict devotion to his interpretations of religious doctrines.

The community began as a typical, conservative Amish congregation. However, things began to shift with the elimination of mealtime prayers and other practices and the propagation of internal strife.

Mullet began isolating the members from the outside world, organizing events that distracted them from their religion while solidifying his influence. He allegedly coerced his followers to do his bidding by convincing them that their way of life was the only true interpretation of Amish beliefs.

The community maintained severe discipline among its members, which included rejecting people who failed to express beliefs or who abandoned the community. One of their practices included the removal of other Amish members' beards and hair. According to Amish religious beliefs, hair reflected a person's spiritual standing, and cutting it was viewed as a sort of punishment or a means of forcing repentance.

Why were the Bergholz clan members arrested?

As reported by WKYC, across eight weeks in October 2011, sixteen members of the Bergholz clan carried out five beard-cutting attacks on Amish people in multiple communities at night by ambushing them. Amish men, who perceived their hair and beard as religious emblems of their faith and lifestyle, saw this as a serious insult, and instead of dealing with the situation on their own, which they typically did, they opted to involve federal authorities and the FBI.

Fred Abdalla, a Jefferson County Sheriff began the arrests after Amish men reported that members of the Amish Bergholz clan were attacking other Amish people outside their community and terrorizing them by shaving their hair and beard.

The local accusations were initially dismissed, and federal charges were filed, allowing federal police and prosecutors to take up the case. Sixteen members of the Bergholz cult were convicted of federal hate crimes, lying to the FBI, and obstructing justice.

The US government built the Bergholz cult case on the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, introduced by Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate crimes occur when an offender harms someone based on their gender, se*ual orientation, disabilities, race, ethnicity, or religion, as reported by TIME.

In September 2012, a jury convicted the 16 members of federal hate crimes, which were motivated by religion. Samuel Mullet was sentenced to 15 years in jail, while Johnny Mullet and the other members were sentenced to 60 months, with some receiving reduced sentences.

According to the FBI affidavit, the attacks of hair-cutting that occurred are as follows:

• On September 6, 2011, the first attack happened on a Trumbull County couple.
• On October 4, 2011, the second attack happened against a man and his son.
• On October 4, 2011, the third attack happened on a man in Carroll County.
• On November 9, 2011, a man was allegedly lured to the Mullet complex and attacked.

As per the document, Johnny Mast, Daniel and Lester Mullet, and Eli and Levi Miller, confessed to participating in at least two of the attacks in early October 2011.

After Mullet and the other members' arrest, Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla labeled Sam Mullet as "evil" and said this to the press:

"We've received hundreds and hundreds of calls from people living in fear. They're buying mace. Some are sitting with shotguns, getting locks on their doors because of Sam Mullet. Sam Mullet is evil."

Meanwhile, Mullet, after his arrest, had this to say to WKYC in his defense:

"I don't work any different than any other bishop, but I'm pointed out and held way up here for being the meanest one of the bunch."

Where is Johnny Mast now?

Johnny Mast was the grandson and right-hand man of Samuel Mullet, the Bergholz cult leader.

During a federal court hearing in September 2012, Johnny Mast testified against his grandfather and 15 other members of the Bergholz cult, claiming that he was outside and could hear what was going on during the beard-cutting attacks on two Amish bishops. He also helped translate a few Pennsylvania Dutch recordings into English. As a result of his testimony, the Bergholz Clan was found guilty and sentenced.

As reported by Cinemaholic, Johnny Mast separated from the Bergholz clan in 2011 after things started becoming extreme. He devised an escape plan that included seeking support from friends and relatives outside the group. His move out was not without risk, as quitting the Bergholz group could have had serious consequences, including rejection by former members.

After leaving his grandfather's cult and his family, Johnny Mast moved to Middlefield, Ohio, and worked on a construction crew for a while.

Johnny Mast also began co-writing a book, Breakaway Amish: Growing Up with the Bergholz Beard Cutters, with Shawn Smucker, which was published in July 2016.

The book recounts Johnny Mast's childhood in the Amish community and his membership in the Bergholz cult, where his grandfather persuaded cult members to commit multiple atrocities.

Jonny currently lives in Garrettsville, Ohio, where he works as a farrier which involves the maintenance of horses’ hooves. He began dating Pennsylvania native Clara Hostetler in 2014 and the two got married in 2019. They also share two daughters, Esther and Kylie.

To learn more about this case, stream episode 9 of How I Escaped My Cult on Hulu.

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