#FREERANDYBLYTHEGATE CONTINUES: PROSECUTOR WANTS BLYTHE TO REMAIN IN JAIL, WILLIE ADLER ADDRESSES LEGAL FUND BACKLASH

Hard to believe that Randy Blythe is still wasting away in a Czech prison, nearly two weeks after he was first arrested. I — and I’m sure a lot of other people — foolishly assumed that this matter would be wrapped up rather quickly, or, at the very least, Blythe would be free on bail in a matter of days. No such luck, obviously. Here’s the latest news on Blythe’s ongoing woes:

• According to Novinky.cz, the Czech news outlet that originally broke the story of Blythe’s imprisonment, the prosecuting attorney filed a complaint this past Friday, July 6,  with the intent of blocking Blythe’s release on bail. There will be another bail hearing… at some point. Presumably, the prosecutor believes Blythe is a flight risk. Which is probably right — I’d sure as hell book it the fuck outta there if I was Blythe — although running from the law is obviously no small deal, even if it’s the law in a foreign country (but Roman Polanski has been doing it for decades, and he’s actually guilty of an actual crime). Fingers crossed that the complaint is overruled.
• Apparently there’s been some fan backlash against the legal fund Lamb of God launched on Blythe’s behalf last week. As far as I can tell, this negative reaction started because some idiots did not read the band’s accompanying statement properly, if at all. As guitarist Willie Adler has subsequently pointed out, “We are by no means requesting charity, nor are we demanding money from our fans. We have received dozens upon dozens of requests from supporters wanting to help in any way possible. This was a direct response to that, in order to give fans a voice in all of this – if they choose to do so.” In other words: a lot of fans wanted to try and help Randy, and this was the band’s way of allowing them to do so. The band did not necessarily need money for Randy’s defense; they’re just trying to do the menschy thing. Which explains why they specifically said that “One hundred percent of the money raised will go to the legal fees and any remaining balance will be given to a charity of Randy’s choice upon his release” in the original statement. This is NOT an attempt to exploit Blythe’s hardships for additional income. So everyone just chill.

We will, of course, continue to cover this story as more news develops.

-AR