When Jim Morrison Got Arrested After The Doors Show For Exposing Himself To The Audience

The Doors frontman Jim Morrison was not only known for his extraordinary talent in singing but also for his crazy, dangerous, and rebellious way of living his life. He was part of many unusual stories of rock bands even though he died at the age of 27 due to a heart failure caused by a drug overdose. Morrison managed to become the first rock star who got arrested on the stage.

Previously, Morrison had been arrested for causing a riot in The Doors’ New Haven concert on December 9, 1967. The arrest was immortalized as New Haven Incident by the fans of The Doors and public authorities. However, the arrest wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last for him. Morrison got arrested again for a different reason three years after the New Haven concert.

Why Did Jim Morrison Get Arrested After The Miami Concert?

Jim Morrison was charged with public exposure after he had dropped his pants during The Doors’ Miami concert which was performed on March 1, 1969. The band members denied the accusations and showed the photos taken during the show by saying that there wasn’t any proof of his getting naked on the stage. However, the Florida Police Department and the press thought otherwise.

The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger defended his bandmate saying:

“They were complaining about Jim whipping it out onstage, which he didn’t do: 500 photos were entered as evidence at the trial and not one showed anything of the sort. I think it was all very politically motivated. People were running for office, so we were a good target.”

Here’s what Miami Herald reporter Larry Mahoney said:

“Many of the nearly twelve thousand youths said they found the bearded singer’s exhibition disgusting. Included in the audience were hundreds of unescorted junior and senior high school girls. Morrison appeared to masturbate in full view of the audience, screamed obscenities, and exposed himself.”

The reporter who probably witnessed the show claimed that Morrison dropped his pants and touched his sexual organ many times in front of the audience especially under-aged girls during the band’s Miami concert. However, his bandmates kept defending him by saying that there wasn’t any solid proof among the five hundred photos which were shown during the trial.

Then, Morrison got arrested for indecent exposure and open profanity on September 20, 1970, and eventually sentenced to jail time and to pay a fine but he died before the case was resolved. He was pardoned by former Florida Governor Charlie Crist almost forty years after he had been found guilty for indecent exposure.