“Bible Thumpers” Threaten Metal Festival

Metal in the Mountains is a metal festival that got its first start in 2017. Its home base is in Pipestern, West Virginia, at the Pipestern Event Center owned by Anthony and Anna Ferraraccio. They have previously received complaints about the noise and profanity in their music, but nothing has come from it. Law enforcement backed them up by citing both the US Constitution and the West Virginia Constitution.

However, a new group is trying to put a stop to the festival. The Ferraraccios received a handwritten letter in the mail in early February threatening the venue and their own home if they do not stop the concert. Anthony Ferraraccio expressed his astonishment in a live Facebook video soon after receiving the letter from the self-proclaimed “Bible Thumpers.”

Aside from the spelling errors, the anonymous writer makes it clear that they are part of a violent group of religious zealots. They mention that they have already destroyed the property of another venue and the business owner’s home as well. They threaten to do the same, and mention that they have been tampering with the advertising of Metal in the Mountains, referring to the ad coordinator’s first name.

While the Ferraraccios have not expressed great concern over the situation, it would seem prudent to keep an eye out, should anyone attend the festival. Being an avid lover of more mainstream festivals like Warped Tour, this could be considered frightening. What would happen if the zealots become bold enough to go after some of these other genres, moving on from metal? Would they burn down more homes in some mockery of a “witch hunt” for the sake of their cause? Is their cause actually religious, or is it a cry for attention?