Alien Ant Farm Vocalist Charged With Misdemeanour Battery

Alien Ant Farm's lead singer, Dryden Mitchell, has been charged with misdemeanour battery after allegedly using a fan's hand to touch his own crotch at a concert in Florida. 

While the incident occurred on 29 October, charges were filed on 30 December.

According to The Daily Mail, Mitchell clasped the hand of a 45-year-old male fan of Alien Ant Farm and put it on his crotch as the band performed their hit cover of Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In the video linked by the publication, the fan lifted his hand in the air (front row, across from Mitchell), and the singer then placed the fan's hand on his crotch before the fan quickly pulled his hand away.

When The Daily Mail reached out to the fan for comment, he said, "I do want to tell my story, but I do have to listen to my civil lawyers."

He added, "I'll be more than happy to speak later. I do want the story out there because what happened was not right."

Rolling Stone obtained a police report from the Fort Lauderdale PD, which reads: "The lead singer of the Alien Ant Farm band, Dryden Mitchell, was on the stage in front of [victim] stated he had his fist in the air and was trying to get a picture with Mitchell. [Victim] 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. [Victim] stated he immediately pulled his hand away at that point."

A first-degree misdemeanour charge can be punishable by up to a year in jail.

Alien Ant Farm was formed in Riverside, California, in 1996. They are arguably best known for their Smooth Criminal cover, which reached #1 in Australia and New Zealand. The band's guitarist Terry Corso commented about the choice to cover Michael Jackson at the time, "We want to pay homage to Michael Jackson, but on our level. Obviously, we're not that glitzy, so we just want to tastefully take the stuff that's cool in his videos and apply it in our own dirty little backyard way."

Footage of the alleged incident can be seen in the video below at the 2:50 mark.