Marilyn Manson gets arrest warrant for allegedly 'shooting snot' during concert, lawyer calls it 'ludicrous'
Musician Marilyn Manson had an arrest warrant issued in his name after he failed to answer pending charges against him. The warrant was issued by the Gilford Police Department (GPD) in New Hampshire after repeated attempts to get the musician to cooperate with the investigation.
Manson, whose real name is Brian Hugh Warner, is currently also facing a lawsuit over sexual assault allegations by his former assistant and several other women. His representatives have denied all the charges, in all the incidents. In the case in New Hampshire, Manson's attorney Howard King said, "This whole claim is ludicrous, but we remain committed to cooperating with authorities."
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The warrant was made public through the GPD's Facebook page, where it said he was wanted on two counts of Class A misdemeanor Simple Assault stemming. The charges stem from a 2019 incident, where a videographer alleged that Manson spit on her at a concert.
Why the warrant?
The case against Manson stems from his concert at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion on August 18, 2019. During his performance, a camerawoman claimed that Manson repeatedly 'shot snot' at her. The name of the videographer has not been released, but according to their Facebook post, the individual was subcontracted by a New Hampshire-based company to record the concert.
During the performance, the individual was located in the stage pit area. One of the attendees told PEOPLE, "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." The person, who wasn't identified added, "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."
Another witness, a security guard said, "I was right there when it happened, she was beyond furious when he did that to her." Following the incident, the individual reportedly filed a case with the police and is seeking more than $35,000 in damages. The police were able to issue the warrant after a bail commissioner found they had probable cause to investigate.
Manson's lawyer King issued a statement to PEOPLE and 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."
Police have claimed that "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." According to them, the charges "can carry a possible jail sentence of less than one year and a fine of $2,000.00 or less." According to Fox News, the warrant was issued on October 8, 2019, but since Manson hasn't returned to the city, the GPD decided to make the warrant public.