Members of the Amish community have been “shunned” by their church after the recent test of an emergency alert system outed them as having procured forbidden mobile phones.

The alarms – part of the nationwide emergency alert drill that the US government carried out on 4 October – drew the attention of community elders in Ohio.

Eli Yoder, a former member of the Amish community, took to TikTok to share the story, in which he explained how three of his friends had gotten into trouble after the devices were discovered.

Mr Yoder said that one of his friends was in the middle of a visit with community elders to discuss a shunning for different reasons when the alert on his phone went off.

In the comments section of his video Mr Yoder added: “From now on, I guess I have to remember to give all my Amish buddies a heads up if there is a planned emergency alert test.”

It states that such devices including television, automobiles, telephones or tractors are “considered to be a temptation that could cause vanity, create inequality, or lead the Amish away from their close-knit community.”

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