A poll about local perceptions over the Jan. 4 search warrant of Amos Miller’s Pennsylvania farm found 85.3 percent think it was “government overreach.”
But Miller is likely feeling even more warm and fuzzy about $202,460 being raised from his friends and supporters since Jan. 4 toward a current goal of $350,000.
The current fundraising is to help Miller with the state civil action he is facing concerning the Jan. 4 search warrant. His first court appearance is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 29 before Judge Sponaugle in the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas, 50 North Duke Street, Lancaster, PA.
Miller is also letting his supporters know they are “welcome to attend.”
Fundraising when he is the target of litigation is nothing new for Miller. During his recent federal case that ended last year, Miller collected more than $500,000 from his network of supporters.
Miller recently wrote on his current fund-raising website: “It has been a challenging month here at the farm. We are currently not allowed to sell any raw dairy products, and it breaks our hearts that the state of Pennsylvania is forcing us to turn so many of you away when you beg us for the food you depend on for your health. This ruling was put in place before our attorney, Robert Barnes, could make any argument or statement on our behalf. We hope and pray that he will be able to show the Court the truth and that we will be able to supply your needs again”
- Until the Feb. 29 hearing, Miller, his wife, and various businesses are prohibited from producing or selling raw milk and raw milk products because of their ”immediate and irreparable injury.”
An order by state Judge Thomas Sponaugie grants the request of the Pennsylvania Attorney General, who has a pending civil action before the court, to permanently prevent Miller and his business enterprises from selling unpasteurized, raw milk and unregulated products because he is endangering public health.
The judge’s order also requires Miller and his businesses to permit the State Department of Agriculture complete access to his records and test products.
Miller further must notify his customers that his products were traced to two recent foodborne illnesses. Further, the judge ordered him to notify his customers that raw milk collected from Miller’s farm on Jan. 4 under a search warrant tested positive for Listeria.
The attorney general has charged Miller with violating several state food safety laws.
Miller was last a defendant in a federal civil action brought after 2016 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The federal citation ended with Miller and his attorney signing a lengthy Consent Decree 2023 that promises compliance with food safety laws.
Miller’s raw milk in 2016 was found to be genetically similar to the bacteria in two listeriosis cases, including a death case.
For a time in federal court, Miller claimed he was not subject to federal jurisdiction because he was a “sovereign citizen.”
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