Arrest warrant issued for Marilyn Manson after assault charges

The charges carry a possible jail sentence.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Marilyn Manson by US police in connection with new assault charges. The singer and performer, aged 52, has been accused of two counts of "class A misdemeanour simple assault" by a videographer at concert in Gilford, New Hampshire in 2019. A statement reads that Manson, real name Brian Hugh Warner, and his team have been "aware" of the charges "for some time." It adds that the charges are "not sexual in nature." "The alleged assaults involved a videographer, Mr. Warner, his agent and legal counsel have been aware of the warrant for some time and no effort has been made by him to return to New Hampshire to answer the pending charges," reads the statement. "Mr. Warner had been performing a concert at the Bank of NH Pavilion on August 18, 2019, when the alleged simple assaults occurred. The issuance of an arrest warrant is not a presumption of guilt. "The videographer had been subcontracted by a NH based company to video the concert, and had been located in the stage pit area when the alleged assaults occurred." Such a misdemeanour carries a potential jail sentence of less than one year and a fine of maximum $2,000 in New Hampshire. Manson was dropped from his record label earlier this year following allegations of abuse made by Westworld actor Evan Rachel Wood. Wood made the allegations against Manson in February, accusing him of "grooming" her and “horrifically abus[ing] me for years." "I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission," she said in a statement on Instagram. "I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him." Manson responded to the allegations, stating that his sexual relationships have "always been consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how – and why – others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth.” Manson's former assistant Ashley Walters also filed a lawsuit against the singer last month alleging sexual assault.