PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Two men are behind bars in central Pennsylvania and their attorney says they are being held illegally.

Attorney Robert Barnes represents Ethan Wentworth of Airville and Rusty Herr of Christiana.

“I’ve seen crazy cases, this is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Barnes, a constitutional attorney at Barnes Law, LLP.

Wentworth and Herr are former dairy farmers who now run NoBull Solutions, a breeding company that helps dairy farms with livestock reproductive management.

For two weeks, the men were jailed and denied bail.

“They are still as baffled today as the day they were incarcerated, as to why they are there, what happened, if they did something wrong, they are still trying to figure it out, if there is any way they can do it.” Fix it?” Barnes said. “They don’t have answers because we don’t have answers. Today they are in prison and unfortunately they have seen horrible things inside.”

Barnes took the case after being contacted by one of the men’s wives.

According to York County Chief Clerk Greg Monskie, Wentworth was booked into the York County Prison on April 10 for a 30-day civil sentence. Barnes says he went to the York County Courthouse after being notified that authorities wanted to speak with him, and when he got there, he was arrested.

Monskie tells FOX43 he will likely only serve 25 days, as it is typical for the records department to give five days as credited service time.

Lancaster County Jail staff told us Herr was booked there a day later, on April 11, after being arrested at his home. He is serving a 30-day sentence for contempt of court.

“They were fully cooperative, they did nothing wrong, they did not object or oppose any police officer,” Barnes explained.

Barnes says neither man received due process.

“The state of Pennsylvania had a judge sign a jail warrant for two people without ever naming them as parties to a case, without them being charged with any crime, without any hearing before a jail warrant was issued, all of which “It is completely illegal under Pennsylvania law and the United States Constitution,” Barnes said. “We are dealing with an extraordinary situation that I have never heard of before in the United States. What we have is a Pennsylvania state agency that has gone completely rogue.”

In 2010, a complaint was filed against Herr with the State Department, accusing him of practicing veterinary medicine without a license, for performing ultrasounds on cows.

The State Board of Veterinary Medicine, which heard the complaint, ruled that Herr was actually practicing without a license.

He was ordered to stop and pay a $3,500 fine.

In 2018, a similar complaint was filed against Wentworth and a third man, who were also practicing without a license.

Wentworth received a similar cease and desist order and was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine.

Barnes tells FOX43 that neither of them paid the fine, as their previous attorney advised them not to.

“The former attorney’s advice was that these orders did not apply to them because they were not veterans and fines were not legally ordered,” Barnes said.

In 2020, another complaint was filed, alleging that both Rusty and Ethan continued to practice without a license.

FOX43 contacted the Pennsylvania Department of State regarding the arrests of Wentworth and Herr, as well as any possible investigation into the two men.

A department spokesperson provided the following statement:

“While the Department of State cannot confirm or deny the existence of an investigation or matter, generally speaking, the Department reviews each potential license violation of which it becomes aware, whether through a complaint filed directly with the Department , a notification from local law enforcement or through media reports, after review, a determination is made as to whether formal disciplinary action is warranted which may include an immediate temporary suspension, an order to show cause and /or a consent agreement. Prosecution leads to disciplinary action, the associated documents are made available to the public in the PALS licensing database (if the individual is licensed) or through the Office of the Prothonotary. Professional and Occupational Matters. In this case, see the “History” sections of the attached Awards and Orders. All defendants are provided with due process, including notice and the opportunity to participate in the proceeding by calling witnesses, presenting witnesses. evidence or testifying on his own behalf. Please note that all persons subject to formal charges have the right to retain counsel of their choice.”

“So far I haven’t been able to confirm that the old cases have anything to do with this,” Barnes said. “It seems like it may be related to them wanting a subpoena, but we don’t jail people for subpoenas for documents.”

As of Thursday night, FOX43 also had not been able to independently confirm this.

We reached out to the Lancaster County and York County district attorneys on Thursday.

Both offices say they are not involved. The York County District Attorney’s Office told FOX43 the sheriff’s department was only required to serve an arrest warrant issued by the Commonwealth Court.

The Pennsylvania Administrative Office of the Courts says the Commonwealth Court rarely issues warrants.

Documents related to the case are sealed, meaning they cannot be accessed publicly. Barnes says his office also has not been able to access court records.

“All we’ve seen is what appears to be a commitment order signed by a Commonwealth Court judge, which doesn’t make sense because the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has no criminal jurisdiction,” Barnes said.

Additionally, FOX43 found no record of criminal charges being filed against either man or NoBull Solutions, LLC.

“We demanded answers last week and the state of Pennsylvania has refused to give them,” Barnes said.

The Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association (PVMA) filed the 2018 and 2020 complaints.

Dr. Bill Croushore, PVMA secretary-treasurer, says he does not know the circumstances surrounding the arrests. This is also noted in an April 18 statement from the PVMA.

“It took us by surprise, like everyone else,” Dr. Croushore said. “We don’t know why they were arrested, except from what we’ve heard speculatively, which was a contempt warrant.”

Dr. Croushore says the PVMA has not seen any documentation or been notified by the State Board of Veterinary Medicine.

When asked if he thinks Herr and Wentworth should be in prison, he stated:

“The diagnosis of pregnancy by any method or modality is considered a practice of veterinary medicine. The Practice (Veterinary) Act is clear and the state board has upheld this in two separate rulings against Mr. Herr and Mr. Wentworth,” Dr. Croushore said. “Under the Practice (Veterinary) Act, what they were doing is illegal. They were diagnosing a physical condition by method or mode. “Whether or not they should be in prison, I am not a judge, that is not for me to decide.”

Barnes argues the claim that NoBull Solutions’ operation is illegal.

“These are ordinary people,” he explained. “None of them do anything that requires a license from any state agency. “I have spoken to several farmers and professionals here who say this is not veterinary care.”

Dr. Croushore says there are exceptions for farmers who ultrasound their own cows.

“What is not legal is for a person other than a veterinarian to charge a service fee to do this,” he said. “That was the complaint originally in 2010. That was the complaint that the PVMA alleged in 2018.”

A statement given to FOX43 by Ethan and Rusty’s families reads:

“Our families are struggling to cope without our husbands and fathers, Ethan and Rusty, who have been illegally imprisoned for more than two weeks. We miss them dearly and our children are traumatized by what happened. We can’t wait to have them back home. , and “We are grateful for all the prayers and support from the community. We ask the state to do the right thing and release them immediately so they can return home to their children.”

Barnes says his office is filing a motion for the immediate release of both men in Commonwealth Court and we are also filing a habeas corpus petition with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

“Something has completely gone off the rails here and we’re going to try to get the train back on track before these men suffer any more,” Barnes said.

“I’ve had a working relationship with Rusty. I don’t have any animosity toward him. I don’t know Ethan, I met him once. Seriously, personally, I don’t have any animosity toward these guys,” Dr. Croushore said. “The PVMA makes us sad that they were arrested. But they chose to ignore these court orders throughout the year. It’s unfortunate that this is what happened, but they did so with their own informed consent.”

“We want to bring the truth to light,” Dr. Croushore continued. “Ultrasounding cows to diagnose pregnancy is veterinary medicine. There are exemptions for farmers to do that and that is very important because there are many farmers who do this on their own and have employees trained to do it. I have clients who do that and “That’s perfectly legal. No farmer or farm employee should be afraid of being imprisoned for doing this.”

FOX43 continues to reach out to the Department of State and the Commonwealth Court to try to get clear answers on how this all unfolded.

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