Rush’s Alex Lifeson’s Shocking Arrest

Rush was a band that’s known more for their musical chops than their behaviour off stage. In fact they seem like they have a pretty clean cut image. That was until 2003 when guitarist Alex Lifeson was tasered and beaten by security in a Florida Hotel.

New Years Eve in Naples, Florida

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson and his family were attending a New Years Eve party to ring in 2004 at a Naples, Florida Ritz Carlton hotel. It was an expensive event, a black tie affair costing each couple $650.00.

Hired to perform at the hotel that night was 71 year old Freddy Cole, the youngest brother of the late, legendary singer Nat King Cole. At one point during the party, Justin, the 33 year old son of Lifeson, was allegedly so intoxicated that he jumped on stage and tried to interrupt the performance.

Cole, for his part, had never heard of the band Rush or Lifeson and told the newspaper when he first heard about the name Rush he would say, “I thought they were talking about Rush Limbaugh.”

“They were doing some gyrations, I guess having a good time.” – Freddy Cole

It wasn’t just Cole who wasn’t impressed with the family’s behavior. He told the newspaper, “I know when they came up and started dancing all over the dance floor, several people left. They were doing some gyrations, I guess having a good time.”

The hotel’s night shift manager radioed the front-desk asking them to call the sheriff’s office to report the disorderly guests. When the police arrived, they took Lifeson’s son out of the ballroom into the hallway and the guitarist soon followed.

Alex Lifeson and Son Justin Fight with Police During Arrest

When Justin started to resist arrest, he was tackled to the ground and tasered. Lifeson, who felt like the police were overreacting, intervened and was punched in the face by one of the deputies who broke his nose.

Lifeson and his son would be arrested and taken down to the local police station. The police alleged that the guitarist spit in the face of a deputy and kicked one of the officers down a stairwell.

Lifeson’s party would claim that the Ritz staff exaggerated the behavior of his family to the police, who in turn, used excessive force. The family claimed the hotel staff told the police over the phone that the Lifeson family was “just basically trashing the place … jumping on furniture, ripping things apart.”

“They didn’t like the way we were dancing, apparently,” – Alex Lifeson

The next day, the guitarist would show up to talk to the press wearing his clothes from the previous night which were covered in blood. His mugshot would also get released to the press. He would tell the media following his arrest, “They didn’t like the way we were dancing, apparently,”

Initially, the guitarist was facing four felony charges including assault on a law enforcement officer. The charges against Alex and his son, Justin were eventually dropped from felonies to misdemeanors and the guitarist served 12 months of probation and paid court costs instead of facing trial and possibly going to jail.

Fans Show Support for the Lifeson Family

Following the news of the guitarist’s arrest, the Collier County Sheriff’s office was inundated with emails and phone calls from fans of the band. Fans were angry about how the guitarist was treated. It got so bad that the sheriff’s office had to release a statement on the matter revealing that the hotel fell out of their jurisdiction and that the emails, some of which were violent and threatening, were no fun to read.

Even the local newspaper, the Daily News came under fire from Rush fans for printing Lifeson’s home address in their story of the arrest. The newspaper would claim they treat everyone equally, rich or poor.

Several years later after the incident, Lifeson’s family filed a lawsuit against the police for excessive force and the hotel for negligence. The court ruled in the deputies favor, but the judge also ruled that the hotel should not have not exaggerated the actions of the guitarist’s family to the police dispatcher, ruling that the hotel staff’s lies “knowingly put Justin at a greater risk of physical injury”.

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