Far-left punk band Anti-Flag breaks up amid possible rape allegation

Anti-Flag, which has promoted far-left and anti-war causes for more than three decades, unexpectedly announced that its members have decided to break up.

On Wednesday, a Patreon account believed to be associated with the band revealed the news: "Anti-Flag has disbanded. the patreon has been switched into a mode where it will no longer charge the monthly fee. i will begin to process refunds to all patrons in the coming weeks. once all refunds are processed the patreon page will also be removed." Chris Barker, vocalist and bass player better known Chris No. 2, has also deleted his social media accounts, reports say.

The breakup is likely shocking to many fans. Anti-Flag first hit the music scene in Pittsburgh in 1988. Since then, their songs have become anthems for anti-war, anti-government protests. In 1999, the group publicly embraced that association: "Anti-Flag does not mean Anti-American. Anti-Flag means anti-war. Anti-Flag means the common people of the world are better off living in unity and peace. Anti-Flag means to stand against corporate greed that hurts millions while benefiting a handful of extremely rich. Anti-Flag means to fight against mindless nationalism. Anti-Flag means unity."

In recent years, Anti-Flag has released songs and albums supporting "feminism," immigrants, gun control, and LGBTQ youth. The band has also issued songs claiming that cops can get away with rape and slamming a culture that promotes "physical and sexual violence against women."

At the time of the breakup announcement, Anti-Flag had been touring Europe with the Dropkick Murphys. On July 12, just one week before the breakup, the band claimed on its Patreon page that members would begin shipping their "physical merch" to those who had recently made purchases.

Since the announcement, many have speculated that the band broke up over allegations of rape that a woman made on a recent episode of the podcast "enough," which purports to "shine light into the darkened corners of the music industry." On the episode which aired on Wednesday, guest Kristina Sarhadi seems to allege that Anti-Flag lead singer Justin Geever, aka Justin Sane, violently raped her in 2010.

Sarhadi never mentions the name of the singer or the band on the podcast, but references to a Tumblr post and many details regarding the incident have convinced listeners that Sane is the alleged rapist. According to a summary of the episode from Cassandra MacDonald of Timcast, Sarhadi claimed to have met the unnamed lead singer after a performance in Brooklyn in September 2010 and later reconnected with him at a festival near her home. Anti-Flag did perform in Brooklyn in September 2010 and participated in the Woodstock Film Festival, reportedly located near Sarhadi's home, from September 29 through October 3 that year.

Though Sarhadi had a boyfriend at the time and Sane, if he is the man in question, is nearly twice her age, one night after the festival, the two allegedly had drinks at a hotel then went back to his room. There, she claimed he viciously attacked her. "There were several moments that I thought I was dying," Sarhadi said about the alleged sexual assault. "I definitely may have passed out or thought I was about to pass out. I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t have any oxygen. I was crying, screaming, telling him to stop, but he didn’t. It went on for a very long time."

"I can’t stress how violent he was and became and how much I fully believed that I was going to die and he was going to kill me," she added.

Sarhadi also stated that, though it allegedly occurred more than a decade ago, the rape "upended" her life. "This person has no f***ing idea — and probably doesn’t give a s***," she said.

According to Punknews.org, "representatives for Anti-Flag have issued a 'no comment' in response to the current situation." However, the "current situation" appears to be in reference to the breakup, not the possible rape allegations.

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