The Asbury Park Press has released an article speculating on the possible involvement of the "crew" FSU, or "Friends Stand United", in the recent death of a James Morrison at a scheduled Ramallah show in Asbury Park, NJ.
According to numerous letters, emails and phone calls to both Morrison's mother and the Asbury Park Press, Morrison and a few friends were allegedly attacked at the concert venue by FSU members because of one of Morrison's friend's shirt, which was southern rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd and featured a Confederate flag. According to the accounts, members of FSU immediately approched Morrison and friends, demanding the shirt be removed. When they refused, a brawl insued which lead to Morrison and two friends being pushed out the door by security, supposedly after a severe beating which may have included Morrison being struck with a bar stool.
New Jersey state police have noted increased concern in FSU over the past year, and have began to classify the crew as a "gang". State Police spokesman Lt. Gerald Lewis noted::
"Their primary thing is how violent they can become at these concerts, if one of their members gets picked on and assaulted, they will swarm the person, and increase their violent acts. . . . Their sole contributing criminal activities are assault and aggravated assault.
In contrast to the current views on the group, FSU's come from a very positive mission in the 1980's, as noted the Seattle weekly newspaper The Stranger:
FSU did start in the '80s as a group of people who fought racist skinheads at East Coast hard-core shows, trying to eradicate Nazis from the scene. But FSU's current insular message of fraternity and demand for respect is far removed from their anti-racist beginnings. In recent months, they've threatened and assaulted a number of members of the hard-core scene, including band members, show promoters, and music fans."
No official statements have been made as to whether the group or members of it have been recognized as official suspects in the death of James Morrison.