Social Distortion frontman Mike Ness is apparently living up to the punk ethos of both being relentless progressive and not holding any reservations against getting violent. A Trump supporting attendee at Sacramento show has reported that Ness beat him up at the gig for a political difference.
The assault against concertgoer Tim Hildebrand occurred on July 17 at the Ace of Spades music venue, according to a report from CBS13 on Tuesday.
Ness had begun expressing negative opinions about Trump during the show, which bothered Hildebrand, a Republican farmer from Galt, California. Though Hildebrand had been a fan of the band for years, he decided to express his dissatisfaction by standing in protest with his middle finger in the air for two songs.
Ness then called him to the front of the crowd and they exchanged a few words before the frontman spat on Hildebrand, came down from the stage and physically confronted him. “[Ness] takes his guitar off, jumps off the stage and proceeds to punch me multiple times in the head,” said Hildebrand, describing the event himself.
CBS reports that Hildebrand left with two black eyes, a split lip, a concussion and a nearly knocked-out tooth. Cell phone footage of the occurrence sees the crowd cheering on Ness with “Whip his ass, Mike” being heard from at least one of the fans. “I wasn’t able to defend myself because people in the crowd were holding me back,” said Hildebrand, claiming he was then thrown out of the venue by security.
Hildebrand now wants the popular punk rock singer to pay for his actions. “If he wants to have a talk someday, man to man, I would love that but he would have to not be a child about it,” said Hildebrand. Sacramento Police say they are aware of the incident and say it is under investigation.
Check out footage below.
Photo Credit: Marv Watson
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