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A woman who set loose a swarm of bees on a group of officers has been sentenced by the court.
Rebecca Woods was convicted on four counts of simple assault and battery, as well as two counts of reckless assault. This was confirmed in an April 17 press release from the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office in Massachusetts. Read more here.
The court sentenced Woods to six months in jail, but she received credit for 148 days already served. Her defense attorney, Mary Saldarelli, stated that Woods has been incarcerated since November and maintains her plea of not guilty.
The incident occurred in October 2022, when deputies were executing a court-ordered eviction at a residence in Longmeadow. Woods arrived at the scene in a beekeeper’s outfit, pulling a flatbed trailer laden with beehives. According to the press release, she then proceeded to break open the hive boxes, releasing the “highly agitated” bees.
Upon being informed that some of the deputies had allergies to bees, Woods reportedly replied, “Oh, you’re allergic? Good.”
Multiple officers were stung and one was hospitalized, per the release. Plus, thousands of bees died during the incident.
According to Saldarelli, Woods, along with other individuals, were peacefully protesting the eviction of a 79-year-old man.
“She appeared with bees—she’s a beekeeper—in an effort to delay the eviction process,” Saldarelli told Oxygen, “not to attack anyone.”
Then, in August 2025, ahead of her trial, Woods fled to Tennessee and was taken into custody at a motel.
However, Woods delayed the legal process by three months as she refused to waive extradition back to Massachusetts, the release noted, until a Governor’s Warrant was issued.
Woods maintains her innocence, said Saldarelli, who has filed a notice of appeal, adding that Woods will continue “fighting the accusations of guilt.”