Ex-Turnstile guitarist’s competency questioned after threatening to fire lawyer at attempted murder hearing

Former Turnstile guitarist Brady Ebert has been forced to undergo a competency evaluation after threatening to fire his lawyer at the latest hearing of his attempted murder case.

The musician is facing a potential life sentence, having been charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree assault.

• READ MORE: Turnstile embarked on an odyssey of their own to make new album ‘Never Enough’

The charges stem from a March incident in which he allegedly hit Turnstile frontman Brendan Yates’ 79-year-old father, William Yates, with his car. Ebert has claimed that he’d acted in “pure self-defence”, alleging that he’d been “straight-up attacked”.

He also reportedly told the commissioner that CCTV footage would contradict police accounts of the incident. During the most recent hearing at Montgomery County Circuit Court in Maryland, Ebert accused his lawyer Mark Sobel of working with the prosecution, per The Baltimore Banner.

“I’m going to fire him,” he said, hitting back at Judge Eric Johnson’s claim that he has “a very good attorney”. Ebert also suggested that his previous lawyer may have accepted a bribe.

Sobel told the judge that he had “significant concerns regarding [Ebert’s] competency”. In response, the musician claimed to be “perfectly competent” and said that “every part of the police report is a lie”.

“We can watch the video right now and prove my innocence,” he told the court. “I did not commit a crime.”

Ebert said he would be pressing charges against the police officers, prosecutors and defence attorneys in the case.

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Johnson then ordered Ebert to undergo a competency evaluation and scheduled another hearing for September 22. A trial date has been set for October 5, as Consequence reports. Ebert is being held in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility without bail.

Police have said that the incident “caused trauma to [William Yates’] lower extremities”. William told detectives that Ebert had been harassing his family since Turnstile parted ways with the guitarist in 2022.

The guitarist had allegedly driven up to William’s house, fired his horn and cursed at him before driving off. Brendan Yates accused him of then returning to the property and intentionally hitting his father with his car. Afterwards, Ebert allegedly came back once more to tell William he “deserved it” before the first responders arrived.

In a statement, Turnstile said they’d cut ties with Ebert following “a consistent pattern of harmful behaviour affecting himself, the band, and the community”. The band accused their ex-member of subjecting them to “baseless tirades” over the following years, adding: “Over the past few months, his threats only escalated further.”

They continued: “This past week, that violence led to a physical attack when Brady went to the house of Brendan’s parents and used his vehicle to run over Brendan’s father, causing severe physical trauma. We are grateful that Mr. Yates survived, has successfully undergone surgery, and we’re hoping for the best possible outcome in his recovery.”

Ebert founded a new band in 2025, called The S.E.T (or ‘The Self Evident Truth’). However, Ebert was kicked out of the line-up earlier this year after accusing Turnstile of misusing funds from a benefit gig.

He also claimed that Turnstile were “pandering to their audience” when the band posted a graphic reading “abolish ICE” (via Vice).

In other news, Turnstile performed their cover of The Stone Roses‘ ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ during their headline gig at Halifax’s The Piece Hall last month. They also brought out Faye Webster at All Points East 2026 in London. Brendan Yates joined Rex Orange County on stage at a warm-up gig in the capital, too.