Former Turnstile guitarist Brady Ebert is claiming that his recent vehicular assault against William Yates, the 79-year-old father of Turnstile frontman Brendan Yates, was an act of self-preservation.
The musician was arrested following a violent altercation in Baltimore on March 29, 2026. He is currently facing severe charges, including attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault. Following a recent hearing where a judge denied his bail, Brady Ebert remains in police custody.
Speaking directly to a district court commissioner regarding the prosecution’s allegations, the guitarist vehemently pushed back against the narrative that he was the aggressor.
“I’m sorry, but this is pure self-defense. I was straight-up attacked,” Brady Ebert stated, as reported by The Baltimore Banner.
However, local authorities and prosecutors paint a drastically different picture. According to a police report cited by The Baltimore Banner, surveillance footage captured the guitarist pulling up to the Yates family residence in a 2001 Buick LeSabre. He allegedly began honking his horn and screaming obscenities at family members, including children.
The report states that William Yates approached the vehicle and threw a rock at it. In response, police allege that Brady Ebert threw the car into reverse before rapidly accelerating directly into the 79-year-old man, striking him and breaking his leg. While the elderly man waited for emergency medical care, the guitarist allegedly told him he “deserved it” before fleeing the scene and subsequently being arrested.
During a bail hearing earlier this month, Assistant State’s Attorney Dominic Plantamura argued successfully to keep the musician detained, characterizing the hit-and-run as “a clearly targeted attack.”
The tragic March 29 incident appears to be the boiling point of a long and hostile history between the guitarist and his former bandmate’s family. The Yates family reported to police that the vehicular assault was part of a terrifying pattern of escalating harassment. Previous alleged encounters included Brady Ebert hurling verbal abuse at William Yates‘ wife outside their home and actively swerving his vehicle at William while he was walking on a sidewalk.
The bad blood dates back to 2022, when Brady Ebert was officially dismissed from Turnstile. Around the time of his firing, members of the hardcore punk band attempted to secure legal peace orders against him, though a judge ultimately denied the requests.
During those previous court proceedings, Brendan Yates provided alarming testimony regarding his former bandmate’s rapid decline.
“Over the last couple years, his behavior has kind of elevated to a point, including heavy dr*g use and a lot of factors that have made him pretty unreliable. And with recent threats, we feel it’s for our safety to file this peace order to neutralize potential threats to our physical safety.”
Turnstile drummer Daniel Fang echoed those exact sentiments on the stand, testifying about direct threats made to the group.
“Our evaluation is that he’s become resentful. He’s been spiraling with his acute dr*g use. In a group chat that was addressed to all of us, he threatened our safety.”
Those previous court filings also documented messy financial disputes, including demands from Brady Ebert for a $10,000 payout and claims that the band had staged interventions urging him to check into a rehabilitation facility.
The guitarist’s personal and financial struggles seemingly worsened following his departure from the Grammy-nominated group. According to court records, he faced foreclosure on his Baltimore home in 2024, which was eventually sold for $175,000—a financial crisis he reportedly blamed on unpaid music royalties. Professionally, his career has also continued to stumble, having recently been fired from his new musical project, The S.E.T.
Brady Ebert is scheduled to return to court this May.
