MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

What is Redneck Rave? Music fest ends with slit throat, severed fingers and broken bones, 48 charged

'Redneck Rave' descended into 'death and violence' as one man had his throat slit, a woman was choked and another man was impaled on a log

KENTUCKY: A 'Redneck Rave' in Kentucky descended into a 'death and violence' festival as one man had his throat slit, a woman was choked and another man was impaled on a log. The five-day 'Redneck Rave' festival was attended by tens of thousands of people. The festival took place at Blue Holler Offroad Park in the small town of Mammoth Cave, 90 miles south of Louisville, last week.

A total of 48 people were charged in connection to the incidents. Attendees were charged with a range of offenses ranging from drug trafficking to felony assault. The nature of incidents that occurred at 'Redneck Rave' brought back memories of Woodstock, the world's biggest music festival, which had a dark side too.

READ MORE

Centuries-old Pamplona bull run remains as bloody and violent as ever: 'Tradition is no excuse for cruelty'

ITZY Lia's school violence allegations: Here's why JYP seeks reinvestigation

Grisly scenes unfolded at what organizers dubbed "America's wildest and craziest country party" at 'Redneck Rave'. One man had his throat slit by a friend after a drunken fight. Edmonson County Sheriff Shane Doyle spoke of the incident and said, "They were intoxicated, they got into a fight, one of them slit the other one's throat and then fled into the park." The throat-slasher wasn't arrested by Wednesday, June 23.

In another incident, Lancer Hodges, 29, was arrested for allegedly strangling a woman until she passed out when they got into a fight over a blanket. The victim, who was left with scratches on her neck told police she couldn't breathe and blacked out during the ordeal. However, Hodges denied choking the woman but was charged with strangulation, wanton endangerment and fourth-degree domestic violent assault. A man driving side-by-side at the festival ended up with a log impaled in his abdomen. According to the authorities, the man drove over the log but it broke through the floorboard of his vehicle and stabbed him in the abdomen. Sheriff Doyle said, "When it tried to come out through his back it was stopped by a steel plate behind his seat." The victim was airlifted to the hospital.

Many others suffered severed fingers, broken bones, dislocated joints and severe lacerations during the festival. According to Doyle, "There were so many intoxicated people, we just decided, 'If dispatch sends an ambulance in, we're sending a deputy in with them'." The sheriff said he had his reservations that the event would cause problems and had tried to plan for adequate policing in the park where the festival was held. He said, "The first vehicle that came through, we found meth, marijuana, and an open alcohol container. And then one of the occupants had two active warrants... 'We were like 'well, this doesn't bode well for the weekend'."

There were 30 charges involving drugs or alcohol-related offenses, 63 traffic-related offenses including two arrest warrants that were served on a fugitive. In addition to this, there were six felony charges including assault, strangulation and wanton endangerment. Fourteen people were arrested while others received citations. Arrested people are from Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri and Tennessee.

'Redneck Rave' organizer Justin Stowers said that the festival was the "coolest thing" he had ever seen in his life. Stowers then thanked the police and fire departments for "working with us to make everything run as smooth as we can". He said, "We can definitely improve on a lot of things to make the one in October run a lot better... we are listening to all your suggestions. This was the biggest event we've ever done and with as many people and random things that popped up unexpectedly I feel like we all handled it very well."

'They described all of this as 'Rowdy''

People took to Twitter to react to the chaos at the "redneck Rave'. One user wrote, "Saw Redneck Rave trending...went to see why... I'm glad my neck isn't red. That's all I'm saying." Another commented, "Who would’ve thought something called the redneck rave would end in anything but chaos." One user tweeted, "This Redneck Rave stuff looks like my futuristic nightmares if things continue the way they're going in America. COVID explosion in 3, 2, 1." Another wrote, "Just want to put it out there.... there was a REDNECK RAVE.... according to reports there were 14 arrests Over 40 were charged w/ a series of shit A woman got strangled A throat got slit And a man was impaled by a log They described all of this as “Rowdy”."