Sting operation: Woman accused of unleashing swarm of bees on police in Massachusetts

A Massachusetts woman is facing multiple assault and battery charges after “weaponizing honeybees” to attack a group of sheriff’s deputies were who enforcing an eviction order, authorities said.

Rorie Susan Woods, 55, who was not the owner of the house, was protesting the repossession of a US$1.5 million, 22-room home in Longmeadow, Mass. When officers arrived at the home on the morning of Oct. 12, Woods pulled her SUV into the driveway at 49 Memery Lane and unleashed a swarm of bees.

According to photos and a statement released by the Hampden County Sheriff’s office, Woods had multiple manufactured bee hives housing “thousands of bees” on a flatbed trailer hitched to her car.

Sheriff Nick Cocchi said that Woods could have faced more serious charges if the casualties had been worse.

“We are always prepared for protests when it comes to evictions, but a majority of the groups who protest understand that we are just doing our statutory duty in accordance with state law,” Sheriff Nick Cocchi wrote in a statement. “But this woman, who traveled here, put lives in danger as several of the staff on the scene who are allergic to bees. We had one staff member go to the hospital and luckily, he was alright or she would be facing manslaughter charges.

At her arraignment on Oct. 12, Woods pleaded not guilty to the felony charges and was released without bail.

Neither Woods nor her lawyer have made any public comment about the situation.