Meet Daniel Hallgren, a guy who used his position in Punk Rock Saves Lives to prey on women – that is until the organization found out.

Luis-Enrique Marquez

It started with a meme. I found a meme of a man on the cover of a Halloween costume and it was called “Random guy in your DM’s”. It further read, “Includes: Hi, WYD? Good Morning Beautiful, Ur so hot! And No One wants you anyway slut!” I thought it was funny cause I often hear my female friends talk about such dudes, so I sent it to most of my female friends. The responses I got back were expected things like “lol,” “That happens all the time,” or “Yup.” I got one response however from a friend I did not expect: “I have a guy just like that in my DMs.” So I talked with this friend of mine for a bit and heard her story of being introduced to him as she wanted to volunteer at a organization that is known nationally for it’s great work. He is Daniel “Lloyd” Hallgren and is a volunteer “lead” in the Minneapolis Chapter of Punk Rock Saves Lives, an organization that does really good work with their focus on health and wellness in the punk community, becoming a regular presence at punk shows and festivals across the country over the past fifteen years. I got a sinking pit in my stomach. I’ve heard so many stories like this and they always ended the same way with organizations folding because people in power refuse to do the right thing.

My friend also introduced me to another woman who had a story to share. She told me of meeting a man online and that he began to chat her up. She thought he was interested in friendship and nothing more, and then one day he started talking to her in a way she did not appreciate. He went from friendship talk to sexual conversation without first asking if that was okay. She told me there were many women that he had done this to. “And it’s men like this that have me uncomfortable talking to men,” she said. “We just never know when they’re gonna do that shit. It’s just so dehumanizing to have it made clear to us that we have no value to men aside from offering them what’s between our legs”.

The woman went on to talk about Hallgren making plans for them during an annual cruise sponsored by Flogging Molly. “Like he without any encouragement from me decided we were going to hook up on the boat,” she said. “I told him it wasn’t going to happen as nicely as possible and he never really talked to me again. He pretended he was interested in being my friend until he suddenly was trying to hook up, then he wasn’t my friend anymore.”

So after talking to these two women, I decided that I was going to reach out to Rob Rover Rushing one of the co-founders of Punk Rock Saves Lives. Before I did that I reached out to a friend who I thought might know him, to tell him of this situation and ask what he thought Rob would do when I spoke with him the next day. What he told me was “If you reach out to Rob and give him the evidence he will act.” I felt hopeful but skeptical, I planned for the worst but hoped for the best.

I gathered my thoughts about what I was going to say, that there apparently was a person in his organization who was in a place of “power” who acted in a friendly manner with women, then would switch it up and without consent move the conversation to a sexual manner. I had hopes that my conversation with Rob would bear some fruit. Many times with national organizations, national leaders don’t always know what is going on with every chapter, they only know what they are told by the people they appoint and “trust” to do the right thing. As she told me “It’s more than dudes like Dan act completely different around men than they do around women.”

I sent Rob a direct message, and he responded, I explained who I was and why I was reaching out, we set up a time to speak the next morning. When we spoke the next day I asked him if he had heard these alligations involving Hallgren, he told that before my direct message he hadn’t. “He has been suspended,” Rob said. “He was called last night and told he was no longer the lead and that I will be digging even deeper into this.”

Clearly Punk Rock Saves Lives were serious about keeping their people and the community safe. It’s not often that you get this response. When I asked if the suspension was a permanent one Rob said, “It’s is indefinite. We have disbanded the Minneapolis chapter until we can find someone else we can trust to lead it which might never happen, for now it’s completely gone.”

As we wrapped up the conversation Rob told me that if this situation happens again in the future – and to be frank it’s quite possibly can – “Reach out to us. We take it seriously. Our booth is always a safe space. If you need to come for help we need you to tell me directly you need help. If you need help I need you to say ‘I need help.’ We are there to help.”

There will be wolves in sheep’s clothing, in organizations but thankfully not in Punk Rock Saves Lives, they will be exposed and kicked to the curb, keeping us all safe.