CRO-MAGS frontman, John Joseph, has recently denied that the band will be suing their founder and former bassist, Harley Flanagan, after he allegedly attacked two of the band’s current members last summer.
Before this week it was fairly unclear as to whether or not Harley Flanagan stood accused of attacking two current CRO-MAGS musicians – Mike Couls and William Berardo – with a five-inch hunting knife at last summer’s CBGB Fest in New York. Although Flanagan was initially charged with felony assault and criminal possession of a weapon, his charges were dropped in December of 2012 due to due to insufficient evidence.
According to an interview with New York Natives, Flanagan was given a VIP pass for the Webster Hall gig, which he used to enter the venue. Flanagan states that he went to the show with “the best of intentions,” but was attacked shortly after arriving and was forced to defend himself.
Despite both the band and Harley Flanagan’s lawyer, Sean Parmenter, repeatedly denying that the punk musician is being held accountable for the stabbing, rumors that such allegations still exist have apparently inspired John Justin to set the public straight. In a recent post on the band’s Facebook page, Joseph makes a statement that leaves very little room for misunderstanding:
“The CRO-MAGS aren’t suing anyone so get your f*cking fax straight people… our part-time fill in bass player is suing Webster Hall for his hospital bills. The CRO-MAGS aren’t suing anyone. I don’t give two fux about all this but when you outright post bullshit I’m gonna speak on it.”
So there you have it, folks. Although the air around the incident has certainly not been cleared, Joseph’s statement dissipates some of the confusion surrounding Flanagan’s charges.