Bloodhoung Gang members 'Evil' Jared Hasselhoff and Jimmy Pop have been named as suspects in a case being pursued by Russia's Investigative Committee.
The band, who have been scarcely been heard from since 1999 single 'The Bad Touch', were performing in the Ukranian city of Odessa in August when bass player Hasselhoff inserted a Russian flag into his underwear, telling the audience: "Don't tell Putin." Naturally, the 'incident' — if you can call it that — was captured on video.
The band's subsequent performance in Russia was cancelled and they were ordered to leave the country, with Russian culture minister Vladimir Medinsky branding them "idiots". Local media outlets reported that Hasselhoff was questioned by police, and was released after apologising for the stunt.
BBC reports Hasselhoff and singer Jimmy Pop are facing charges of "inciting hatred in an organised group", which carries a maximum sentence of five years. The two men have been accused of "humiliating the human dignity of citizens of Russia"; a statement on the Investigation Committee's website adds that Pop shouted out "insulting expressions in English against Russia".
This is probably not a great time to go by the nickname "Evil".
