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Frontman of a punk band from LA armed with a knife and bare-chested is said to have organized a “terror hike” through Yosemite National Park

The frontman of a Los Angeles punk band called Cancer Christ was arrested after going on a “terror march” through Yosemite National Park, taking off his shirt and threatening several people with a knife.

Anthony Mehlhaff, 40, of Los Angeles, is accused of attacking two people before driving to the park, where he crashed a car, removed the rest of his clothes, stole a bicycle and engaged in other bizarre and dangerous activities.

Mehlhaff is charged with vandalism, auto theft, reckless driving, kidnapping, theft, first-degree burglary, robbery, obstructing an officer and assault. He has been held in the Mariposa County Jail on $100,000 bail since Friday.

Accordingly The Los Angeles Times, Attempts to reach Mehlhaff by phone ended up on his personal mailbox, where police officers and psychologists were told to piss off and leave him alone.

The rampage began around 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday when Mehlhaff approached a pregnant waitress at a restaurant in Mariposa County. He is said to have touched her stomach and said: “The spirits led me to you and your baby is mine. And when is your break, because I will be waiting for you.”

Mehlhaff is charged with vandalism, auto theft, reckless driving, kidnapping, theft, first-degree burglary and robbery, among other offenses. He is being held on $100,000 bail.
Mehlhaff is charged with vandalism, auto theft, reckless driving, kidnapping, theft, first-degree burglary and robbery, among other offenses. He is being held on $100,000 bail. (Mariposa County Sheriff's Office)

After stealing several drinks and assaulting another restaurant employee, he sped his vehicle toward Yosemite National Park, leading to numerous reports of a possible chase, kidnapping, assault, stolen vehicles, and other suspicious circumstances—all near Fish Camp.

Yosemite National Park rangers attempted to stop Mehlhaff on his way into the park, but he continued to the Fish Camp area, where he crashed his vehicle and stole a bicycle.

At that point, according to the sheriff's office, he allegedly took off his shirt, gave it to a passerby and said, “You should keep this, I'm going to be famous.” According to Spotify, Cancer Christ has just under 4,000 listeners a month. Their first and only album, God is violencewas released earlier this year.

After removing his shirt, Mehlaff entered the Tenaya Lodge kitchen through a back door, placed his hat and other items in a refrigerator, grabbed a knife from the kitchen and began threatening workers, the sheriff's office said.

He then walked to a creek area near the Tenya Lodge clubhouse, where he removed his trousers, wallet and car keys before returning to the clubhouse in his underwear and telling people to leave.

Mehlhaff then began to vandalize the clubhouse.

He then took the store manager's car keys and attempted to kidnap him while attacking him and forcing him to drive Mehlhaff out of the area.

After allegedly stealing the store manager's vehicle, the punk rocker drove down Highway 41 toward Oakhurst, where he displayed “extreme road aggression” and rammed a Tesla after making “aggressive hand gestures” toward the driver.

He later caused an accident with the stolen vehicle and was taken into custody after receiving medical treatment at a local hospital.

During a search of Mehlhaff's registered vehicle, an Enola Gay smoke grenade was found in the door panel. The Merced Bomb Disposal Squad was called to disarm the device.

“This is just a small glimpse of what we are encountering at any given time,” Sheriff Jeremy Briese said in a statement.

“This man drove throughout our county terrorizing our visitors and community members. I am extremely glad that no one was seriously injured, this man's behavior was erratic and dangerous… I am proud of the work of our staff and the partnerships we have built that allow us to apprehend criminals who continue to harm our communities.”