Anti-Flag’s Ex-Members Say ‘F-ck You’ to ‘Very Sick’ Justin Sane Amid Sexual Assault Accusations
Three former Anti-Flag members have further condemned frontman Justin Sane for “deceiving” them and “hurting so many people” following a Rolling Stone investigation where 13 women accused the punk-rock singer of predatory behavior, sexual assault, and statutory rape.
“To Justin, we believe you are very sick and in need of serious professional help. We want to have compassion and have faith in restorative justice, but fuck you for hurting so many people, not just the ones who have bravely come forward, but anyone still carrying their pain internally,” Patrick Bollinger, a.k.a. Pat Thetic, Chris Head, and Chris Barker, a.k.a. Chris No. 2, said in a statement to Rolling Stone on Thursday.
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“Fuck you for exploiting the work of the band and the many people associated with it for so long. As many predators do, it appears you used our beliefs as a cover for egregious activities that you clearly knew we would never condone.”
Anti-Flag’s 35-year journey as a band came to an end in mid-July when Kristina Sarhadi, a New York holistic therapist and health coach, appeared on the “Enough” podcast to accuse Sane of violent sexual assault. Sarhadi did not name Sane — real name Justin Geever — directly in the podcast, however, fans were quick to link the Pittsburgh native to her story. (Sarhadi later confirmed to Rolling Stone that Geever was the subject of the allegation.)
A week after the podcast aired, Geever categorically denied the allegation, saying he had “never engaged in a sexual relationship that was not consensual.” He has not commented publicly since.
This week, 13 women opened up to Rolling Stone about their alleged encounters with Geever going back to the 1990s and as recently as 2020. Their stories range from allegations of predatory behavior and sexual encounters with Geever as teens, sexual assault, and statutory rape. Many of the women were Anti-Flag fans and described Geever as their idol, alleging he exploited the power he wielded with younger, enamored girls and women for his own sexual gratification.
“I was one among many made to feel special, manipulated, pressured, and then just thrown to the side of the road,” said Karina, who used a pseudonym and described herself as sexually inexperienced when she began dating Geever at age 16, right as Anti-Flag was taking off in the mid-1990s.
Bollinger, Head, and Barker offered their thanks to the women for their “courage in sharing the pain you have experienced.” “To others who may yet come forward, while you don’t owe anyone your story, please know that you are not alone and that we believe you,” they added.
The band has largely remained silent after Sarhadi’s allegation, which they say they learned of a day before the podcast aired through a preview of the episode, along with Sarhadi’s name and photo.
“Justin responded that he did not know this person,” the three members claim. “The next morning, when the three of us heard Kristina’s story, it became apparent to us that he was lying. To be true to the values we embraced for decades, we quit the band immediately and without hesitation. The three of us removed the band’s internet presence in an attempt to limit spaces for people to attack, antagonize, or harm Kristina as we tried to get a grasp on this shocking information.”
Many of the women who spoke to Rolling Stone raised questions about the other members’ knowledge of Geever’s behavior. Three women claimed that some of the men were present when Geever brought them on tour, backstage, or on the tour bus as teenagers and young women. “They knew how young everybody was,” Rebecca, who dated a then-25-year-old Geever as a 17-year-old in the late 1990s, claimed. “There was a clear boundary that he kept crossing over and over that should have raised flags for everybody.”
The three men acknowledged fans have more questions but said they are similarly “learning of and processing” the information in real-time. “We trusted Justin greatly and are now learning that we were deceived, lied to, and kept in the dark for the entirety of our association,” they wrote. “Two things can be true: a person can be kind and selfless in one space and a monster in another.”
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