In mid-July, Kristina Sarhadi, a New York-based holistic therapist/health coach, appeared on the enough podcast to speak about an alleged sexual assault she suffered in 2010 at the hands of a prominent punk rock musician known as a champion of feminism, liberal causes and left-wing activism. Although Sarhadi did not name the individual in question, the details of her account turned the spotlight on Anti-Flag frontman Justin Sane (aka Justin Geever), and within a matter of hours, the Pittsburgh band announced that they had disbanded, and deleted their social media pages.
One week later, Anti-Flag's frontman issued a statement strongly denying the allegation, writing, "I have never engaged in a sexual relationship that was not consensual, nor have I ever been approached by a woman after a sexual encounter and been told I had in any way acted without her consent or violated her in any way."
Now, however, 12 more women have come forward to speak to Rolling Stone about their own encounters with Greever, accusing the musician of predatory behaviour, sexual assault, and statutory rape dating back to the 1990s, and through to 2020.
One of the women, a French college student identified as 'Mat', tells Rolling Stone that her contact with the musician was initiated in 2017 when she asked for his help on a paper about feminism and the place of women in punk. Within two months, she says, Geever started to imply that they would start a life together in the US. In June 2018, the pair finally met, and had a sexual encounter, during which she says Greever choked and spat on her without consent. Days later, the musician cut off all contact with her.
Another European fan claims she was 15 when Geever - then 35 - took her virginity while Anti-Flag were touring Germany in 2008. A third woman, Hannah Stark, filed a police report against Geever in August, accusing him of sexual assault stemming from an encounter in 2020 in the UK. Police in the UK confirmed to Rolling Stone that they received a “report of a serious sexual assault” related to this allegation. In 2022, Stark posted anonymously on the Tumblr page The Industry Ain’t Safe, writing "Justin Sane from Anti-Flag Am I really the only person this has happened to?" Her post was the catalyst for Kristina Sarhadi to come forward with her own story, which in turned sparked the just-published Rolling Stone article. Rolling Stone notes, 'Seven of the women were teenagers at the time of their encounters. An eighth was 12 years old.'
"It is important that everyone knows the truth," says 'Mat', before addressing Greever directly to say, "For everyone to know that you are a monster."
"My father had 15 T-shirts of Anti-Flag," she adds. "When we talked, I told him, 'I don’t want to see you wear something by them.' He just put everything in the trash. I want everyone to act that way.”
Read the full, exclusive Rolling Stone investigation by writer Cheyenne Roundtree here.
