--- title: "Woman Convicted for Attacking Police With Swarm of Furious Bees" description: "A Massachusetts woman was sentenced to six months in jail after unleashing bees on officers to defend her friend's home." date: "2026-04-28" modified: "2026-04-28" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/science-energy/bees-sheriff-eviction" categories: - "Environment" - "Future Society" - "Science & Energy" --- # Woman Convicted for Attacking Police With Swarm of Furious Bees ![Close-up of a hornet surrounded by honeybees on a honeycomb. The honeycomb cells are filled with honey, and the image highlights the contrast between the larger hornet and the smaller bees. The scene is brightly lit, emphasizing the golden-yellow tones of the honey and the insects.]() *Getty / Futurism* Look, evictions are [violent affairs](). When the state sends armed officers to kick residents out of their homes on behalf of private banks, things are bound to get out of hand. Dispossessed tenants have reacted with every means at their disposal: enlisting [community organizers](), [filing lawsuits](), and occasionally even [barricading themselves with guns](). However, sheriff's deputies carrying out one 2022 eviction really got stung — literally — when Massachusetts resident Rebecca Woods let loose a swarm of honey bees in order to stall the cops kicking an 80-year old man out of his home. "Hey, hey, hey, she has a truck full of bees," one deputy can be heard saying in [recently released video]() of the eviction. "What?" another deputy replies, baffled. "She's opening the bees," another voice can be heard warning. https://youtu.be/vHXdVumCVqM?si=kjTHIswed9-BgW1W The estate — a sprawling, $1.9 million mansion in the [wealthy]() and picturesque town of Longmeadow, Massachusetts — belonged to an elderly man undergoing cancer treatment, [the *New York Times* reported](). For her part, Woods maintains that she was stalling the officers long enough for the homeowner to print off a stay of eviction letter at the local library. A beekeeper by trade, Woods was recently sentenced to serve six months in the county jail for unleashing the insects on officers during the tense eviction. "It really was just a sincere hope that \[the home owner\] would not suffer the humiliation and devastation of going through an eviction, of losing your home," Woods' attorney said on Sunday. Prosecutors had initially charged Woods with seven felonies, each of which were nullified by the jury. Instead, she was found guilty of four misdemeanor counts of assault and battery, as well as two counts of reckless assault. The beekeeper maintains that she did nothing wrong, and has filed a notice of appeal, the *NYT* reported. **More on insects:** *[Bugs Fed Microplastics Grow to Ludicrous Size]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()