A court has dismissed the company owned by former members of Anti-Flag from a sexual assault lawsuit involving the band’s frontman, Justin Sane.
Accusations against the singer – real name Justin Geever – came to light in 2023, when Kristina Sarhadi, a New York holistic therapist and health coach, filed a lawsuit against him.
Per MetalInjection, Sarhadi then filed a lawsuit against Anti-Flag’s business, Hardwork Distribution Inc., accusing the band of negligence as well as negligent infliction of emotional distress. The business is owned by band members Pat Thetic (Patrick Bollinger), Chris Head, and Chris No. 2 (Chris Barker).
However, in December New York Judge Brenda K. Sannes dismissed the lawsuit against Hardwork Distribution Inc., citing a lack of provable ties between Geever’s actions and the company itself.
The suit against Geever by Sarhadi remains, with filings alleging Geever had “used his platform as a celebrated, self-proclaimed ‘punk rock star’ to groom and lure vulnerable girls into feeling safe in his presence.”
Justin Sane of Anti-Flag performs during Riot Fest 2021 at Douglass Park on September 17, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images)
It continued: “While he sang about protecting women and standing up to abusers, it appears he was hiding an addiction to power and control, harming countless women who have been unable to speak up before now. Today I hope to encourage his survivors, and survivors of other predators in the music industry, to feel hope again.”
Geever did not respond to requests for comment at the time, but later shared a statement denying all accusations raised against him. News of the accusations coincided with the band announcing their sudden split in 2023, which came without any kind of explanation. They then deleted all of their social media accounts and their official website.
On that same day, an episode of the podcast Enough was released, in which a woman spoke about being raped by a singer in a political punk band. She did not name the band or singer, but many speculated at the time that she was referring to Geever. It was later confirmed that this woman was Sarhadi.
Justin Sane of Anti-Flag performs during the Vans Warped Tour 25th Anniversary on July 20, 2019 in Mountain View, California. (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
A few days after the split, Geever issued his statement, which read: “Recently, there have been claims of sexual assault made against me and I can tell you that these stories are categorically false.
“I have never engaged in a sexual relationship that was not consensual, nor have I ever been approached by a woman after a sexual encounter and been told I had in any way acted without her consent or violated her in any way.”
Last year Sarhadi had amended her complaint and claimed that Geever had “purposefully and unlawfully attempted to avoid service” in the lawsuit she brought against him. It also claimed that the punk musician had sold his house in Pittsburgh, attempted to “hide his assets by transferring funds overseas to an Irish bank account”, and reportedly planned “to flee to Europe”.
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