According to nme.com Alien Ant Farm‘s lead singer Dryden Mitchell is charged with battery when he allegedly put a male fan’s hand into his crotch during a concert. The Daily Mail stated that the incident happened when Alien Ant Farm was performing at the Broward Center For The Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on October 29, 2022.

It has been reported that the unidentified fan filed a police report at the Fort Lauderdale Police Department two weeks later after the incident and claimed that the frontman had allegedly assaulted him. Last Friday the Broward State Attorney’s Office filed a first-degree misdemeanor charge against Mitchell, which is punishable up to one year in jail if found guilty.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department has made the following statement

“[The fan] said he had his fist in the air and was trying to get a picture with Mitchell. [He] advised that Mitchell grabbed his fist while it was in the air and pulled the fist into his private area (genital area) against his pants. [He] stated he immediately pulled his hand away at that point.”

The concert-goer told the the Daily Mail  he wished not to talk about the incident until a later date. “I’ll be more than happy to speak later. I do want the story out there because what happened was not right.”

This is not the first time Alien Ant Farm has had trouble with their fans because during a live show  in 2016 guitarist Terry Corso pleaded guilty for assaulting a fan during a live show. The incident happened when an audience member threw a form of liquid at Corso, who assumed it was urine.

Corso’s solicitor Stephen Ferns mentioned in a statement how the incident happened

“He felt angry at that so he confronted the fan and ended up hitting him once. He regrets his actions and says he never should have jumped off the stage.”