Fans began crowdsurfing and climbing onto the stage before the alleged incident happened
On Wednesday, September 24, a high-energy Turnstile set on Richmond, Virginia’s Brown’s Island ended in confusion and outrage when a uniformed sheriff’s deputy appeared to pepper-spray a fan attempting to join the band onstage. Multiple videos shared afterward show the climactic moment during the closer “Birds,” a song that often invites a celebratory stage-rush at Turnstile shows. As one concertgoer climbed toward the platform, a deputy at the barricade leveled a canister and discharged spray directly into the fan’s face, sending people reeling and forcing band members to shield their eyes. In one clip, bassist Franz Lyons can be seen retreating toward the backline as the irritant disperses.
Check out video footage of the alleged incident below, courtesy of CBS 6.
By Friday, September 26, Richmond Sheriff Antionette Irving confirmed that her office had opened an investigation into what happened. The sheriff also told reporters that, according to her understanding, city police were responsible for security at the event—an assertion that contrasted with information CBS 6 said it received from Richmond Police indicating that the Sheriff’s Office handled concert security. That discrepancy, now part of the public record, is among the questions the investigation is expected to address. Officials offered no further comment over the weekend, and representatives for Turnstile had not responded to media inquiries.
Eyewitness accounts and crowd-shot footage portray a chaotic final minute of the show. As the band encouraged a last burst of onstage catharsis, the deputy’s use of pepper spray created a secondary wave of distress in the pit and onstage. Fans closest to the action can be seen staggering and wiping their faces, while the band halts the celebration to assess the situation. What would normally be a hallmark of Turnstile’s inclusive live ethos—bridging the gap between performer and audience—hardened instead into a flashpoint over proportional force at concerts.
National music outlets quickly picked up the story, amplifying calls from fans to identify the officer and to clarify de-escalation protocols for mixed-security events on public spaces like Brown’s Island. Coverage in Consequence, Pitchfork, and other publications underscored that the moment occurred during “Birds,” with reporting noting the visible impact on band members and the immediate launch of an internal review by local authorities. The Sheriff’s Office has not announced a timetable for findings, but the department publicly acknowledged the probe, while media noted the conflicting accounts about which agency oversaw security that night.
The incident reignites perennial debates around hardcore show culture, crowd participation, and how law enforcement or private security interacts with norms like stage-diving and onstage invites. Turnstile has built a following on euphoric, communal performances; that context makes the visual of a fan being sprayed at arm’s length particularly jarring, and it raises broader questions about training and use-of-force thresholds in concert environments where the energy is both the draw and the variable to manage. As Richmond authorities sort out the chain of command and justification for the spray, fans and industry observers are watching closely for policy changes—whether that means clearer briefings between promoters and security, designated no-go zones at the lip of the stage, or formal guidance limiting chemical irritants in crowded, confined concert spaces. For now, the September 24 show is likely to become a case study in how a celebratory finale turned, in an instant, into a public-safety controversy with national attention.