During the recent episode of “The Jasta Show,” Cannibal Corpse singer George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher spoke about his bandmate Pat O’Brien who was arrested on December 10th on charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and burglary of an occupied dwelling with assault. Deputies say he burglarized a house and charged at a deputy with a knife.
At the same time, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue was responding to a fire at O’Brien‘s home after a neighbor called 911 after she saw flames coming from the house.
Fisher said:
“I don’t wanna speculate about what could have happened that night, but it could have been way worse — for him.”
“When people were seeing [TV reports about] it — I think on the Tampa news, they were pretty good with him,” he continued. “They just said he was one of the best guitar players in death metal in America, and in the world, and he’s highly respected. And they didn’t really trash him at all. And they showed him on TV.”
He also said that fans have been very supportive of Pat while he is dealing with his ordeal. “In the metal world, I think in general, 95 percent [of the people], everyone was, like, ‘Get well soon,’” he said. “I didn’t spend too much time reading stuff online, because that’s when you get people who just wanna say nasty stuff just to be nasty.”
“We love him. We want him back. But when I saw him in the court with the vest, dude, I cried. Because we just got home from tour… We wish the best for him, and we’re just waiting to see [what happens]. He’s got a road ahead of him still with legal issues, and that’s out of our hands. We support him 100 percent; we’re behind him 100 percent.”
Several days after the arrest, Cannibal Corpse issued the following statement on their social media:
“As a band and as individuals, we all want nothing but the best for our brother and partner, Pat. While we can offer no further information about the incident, we wanted everyone to know that Pat is getting the help he needs and appreciates the love and support from Cannibal Corpse fans around the world.
“Pat is currently with family and friends and looks forward to a healthy return at some point. For anyone wondering, all Cannibal Corpse touring will happen as planned and all shows will be played.”