According to the Associated Press, an attorney for Marilyn Manson has entered a not guilty plea on the singer’s behalf in a district court in New Hampshire. Manson is accused of approaching a videographer at his 2019 concert at the Bank Of New Hampshire Pavilion in Gilford and spitting and blowing his nose on her. Manson‘s attorney filed the not guilty plea in Laconia District Court. A case status hearing has been scheduled for December 27.
Manson was charged with two misdemeanour counts of simple assault. If convicted on the charges, Manson could face a jail sentence of up to one year and a fine of up to $2,000.
The shock-rocker, whose real name is Brian Warner, turned himself in two months ago in Los Angeles on an arrest warrant in the case. Manson then went through the Los Angeles Police Department‘s booking process before being released on personal recognizance bail. He has agreed to not commit any crimes while on release, not have any contact with the alleged victim, and to appear at all of his court hearings.
This past May, the Gilford Police Department announced that they had an active arrest warrant for Manson in connection with the incident, which occurred in August 2019.
According to the affidavit, Manson approached the videographer, whose company was contracted by the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion for the concert season the first time, put his face close to the camera and spat a “big lougee” at her. She was struck on both hands with saliva. The shock rocker allegedly returned a second time, covering one side of his nostril and blowing in the videographer’s direction.
Manson performed in Gilford, New Hampshire on August 19, 2019 as part of the co-headlining “Hell Never Dies” tour with Rob Zombie.
In a statement, Manson‘s attorney Howard King said: “It is no secret to anyone who has attended a Marilyn Manson concert that he likes to be provocative on stage, especially in front of a camera. This misdemeanor claim was pursued after we received a demand from a venue videographer for more than $35,000 after a small amount of spit came into contact with their arm. After we asked for evidence of any alleged damages, we never received a reply. This whole claim is ludicrous, but we remain committed to cooperating with authorities, as we have done throughout.”
Seemingly contradicting King‘s statement, three concert attendees — including a security guard — told People that they saw Manson spit and “shoot his snot” at the camerawoman.
“He was spitting everywhere and one time it got on her camera so she wiped it off and looked semi-irritated. He noticed this and kept purposely spitting on her camera,” one attendee told People. “I think her final straw is he got on the floor, got within 2-3 feet of her and hacked a giant snot rocket at her not the camera. She was pissed off and disgusted so she stormed off and he just laughed.”
“I stopped listening to his music after that and told my husband I would never go to another one of his concerts again,” she added.
A second attendee concurred, stating that he “bent down to shoot his snot all over this woman. I can remember him just laughing about what he did.”
“I was right there when it happened, she was beyond furious when he did that to her,” a third man, who works as a security guard at the venue, said. “He spit on her a couple of times and then leaned real close to the camera and blew a huge snot rocket on her. After he did that, she almost threw her camera right down on the ground.”
