Justin Sane of Anti-Flag has been ordered to pay almost $2 million dollars to a woman who has accused him of alleged sexual assault. Sane was first accused in 2023, when a woman alleged she had been assaulted by a well-known musician of a political punk band. Although she did not call out Sane by name, online speculation exploded soon after. Anti-Flag announced their split and deleted all of their social media shortly after. Sane released his own statement denying any and all allegations. Soon after the first survivor spoke out, 12 more women came out against Sane for similar allegations. 

The accusations against Sane date back to the 1990s and include a myriad of disturbing details, such as instances of alleged predatory behavior, harassment and statutory rape. Many of the accusers were teenagers at the time of these occurrences. In her podcast appearance, the first woman to come forward, Kristina Sarhadi, described her encounter with Sane. She says, “It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced…I can’t stress how violent he was, and how much I fully believed I was going to die — that he was going to kill me.” Sarhadi filed the lawsuit in 2023.

After these women came forward, other members of the punk band released a statement condemning Sane’s actions: “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 f*** you for hurting so many people, not just the ones who have bravely come forward, but anyone still carrying their pain internally. F*** 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.” Parts of the lawsuit were dropped against Sane, specifically the provisions claiming his fellow bandmates were guilty. 

In the wake of the default judgement against Sane, Sarhadi said “Judge Sannes’ careful decision in my case feels like a beacon of hope in a time of emboldened misogyny and unchecked power,” Sarhadi wrote. “While every survivor knows there is no appropriate compensation for the harms we’ve suffered, I am indescribably grateful for the opportunity to be witnessed and the validation of being believed.”