An arrest warrant has been issued for shock rocker Marilyn Manson for two counts of misdemeanor assault tied to an incident at a 2019 concert. Gilford, New Hampshire police announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday (May 25) that there is an active warrant for Manson (born Brian Hugh Warner) for two counts of Class A misdemeanor simple assault that allegedly took place at a show he played at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion on Aug. 18, 2019 as part of his Hell Never Dies co-headlining tour with Rob Zombie.
The police said the alleged assaults are tied to claims by a videographer subcontracted by a N.H.-based company to film the concert who was in the photo pit in front of the stage when the alleged assaults occurred. The N.H. PD confirmed that the alleged assaults are “not sexual in nature” after a number of news outlets reportedly questioned whether they were tied to a growing series of recent allegations against the 52 year-old singer by women who claim he sexually, mentally and physically assaulted them.
“Mr. Warner, his agent and legal counsel have been aware of the warrant for some time and no effort has been made by him to return to New Hampshire to answer the pending charges,” read the statement from the police department, which noted that the issuance of an arrest warrant “is not a presumption of guilt.” The misdemeanors can carry a possible jail sentence of less than one year and a fine of $2,000 or less.
In a statement to People magazine, Manson’s attorney, Howard King, said, “It is no secret to anyone who has attended a Marilyn Manson concert that he likes to be provocative on stage, especially in front of a camera. This misdemeanor claim was pursued after we received a demand from a venue videographer for more than $35,000 after a small amount of spit came into contact with their arm. After we asked for evidence of any alleged damages, we never received a reply.”
King labeled the claim “ludicrous,” but said they are committed to cooperating with authorities and have been throughout the case. Three attendees reportedly told the magazine that they witnessed Manson “shoot his snot” at the camerawoman. “He was spitting everywhere and one time it got on her camera so she wiped it off and looked semi-irritated. He noticed this and kept purposely spitting on her camera,” one unnamed attendee said. “I think her final straw is he got on the floor, got within 2-3 feet of her and hacked a giant snot rocket at her not the camera. She was pissed off and disgusted so she stormed off and he just laughed.”
In addition to segments in which he appears to burn a bible, Manson’s live shows frequently feature the singer spitting and blowing mucus out of his nose onto the stage.
“I was right there when it happened, she was beyond furious when he did that to her,” a man who works as a security guard at the venue reportedly wrote on Facebook according to People. “He spit on her a couple of times and then leaned real close to the camera and blew a huge snot rocket on her. After he did that, she almost threw her camera right down on the ground.”
Actresses Evan Rachel Wood and Esmé Bianco are among the more than dozen women who’ve accused Manson of psychological, sexual and physical assault, including allegations from former girlfriend Wood that he started “grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years.”
Following Wood’s claims, four other women came forward with similar disturbing allegations, including former Game of Thrones star Bianco, who alleged that during their years-long relationship, Manson assaulted her without consent in a music video shoot and during sex, raped her when she was unconscious, rigidly set rules for her life and once chased her with an ax. Another ex, Ashley Morgan Smithline, said the singer allegedly bit and whipped her, forced her into a blood pact, locked her in a soundproof glass “bad girls” room,” cut her with a knife featuring a Nazi swastika symbol, and shoved his fist in her mouth during sex.; Manson has denied the claims.
In Dec. 2001, Manson was charged with assaulting a security guard at a Clarkston, Michigan show after he allegedly spit on the man’s head and rubbed his G-string clad genital area on the man’s head; Manson pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct and received a $4,000 fine. At press time King had not responded to Billboard’s request for comment on the N.H. warrant.
