Alien Ant Farm frontman Dryden Mitchell has been charged with battery following an onstage incident in October 2022. According to a report from The Daily Mail, the band were performing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on 29th October when Mitchell allegedly grabbed a male fan’s hand and moved it towards his crotch.
Footage of the incident – which can be found around the 2:50 mark below – was uploaded to YouTube. The fan can be seen quickly removing his hand from Mitchell’s grasp. The 45-year-old fan reported the incident to police in mid-November and Mitchell was charged with misdemeanour battery on 30th December.
Alien Ant Farm – ‘Smooth Criminal’ (Live In Florida, 2022)
According to an incident report of the onstage encounter, the alleged victim told police he decided to come forward due to it “not sitting well with him.” He said he “did not feel this was proper behaviour to do in front of all the concertgoers”. If convicted of the charges against him, Mitchell can face up to a year in jail.
Formed in California in 1996, Alien Ant Farm gained widespread fame in 2001 after releasing a cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’ as the second single from their second album, ANThology. The group performed in Australia as part of the 2002 Big Day Out, and had been scheduled to return alongside Hoobastank, Wheatus and Lit in 2017 as part of a tour that was ultimately cancelled.
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