Former Fire From The Gods Vocalist AJ Channer Addresses Child Endangerment Charge

Former Fire From The Gods vocalist AJ Channer has issued a public statement addressing his recent arrest on a child endangerment charge, as well as renewed attention surrounding his past legal history.

It was recently reported that Channer was arrested on December 19th, 2025, in Cleveland, Tennessee, on a charge of child endangerment (8 years or less). Following the circulation of his mugshot connected to that arrest, additional scrutiny led to the resurfacing of a prior arrest from May 7th, 2024, in which Channer was charged with assault of a pregnant person. As of this writing, the outcome of the 2024 case remains unclear.

Channer was officially replaced as the vocalist of Fire From The Gods in March of 2025. Since then, he has been pursuing music independently under the solo project CHNNR, which he has continued to promote in recent weeks.

In response to the latest reports, Channer took to Facebook to address both the timing of the information becoming public and the circumstances surrounding the charges. In his statement, Channer claimed the renewed attention coincided with a band’s single release, stated that the 2024 charges had already been addressed, and said the December arrest stemmed from his recovery process and a hair analysis reflecting past substance use.

Channer wrote:

“FYI. It is unfortunate that we live in a world where a band uses the struggles of someone they used to call a friend to promote the release of their new single. The timing of the release of this information is not a coincidence.

That said, the 2024 charges have been addressed by my wife thoroughly on social media. There is no more to add. I have been in the midst of the recovery process ever since.

The new charges were triggered by someone who has no idea of what we are going through calling authorities. Because I’m in recovery and past substance use shows up in hair analysis (and substance use endangers children) those charges were laid. That is all these charges are about.

Thanks to those who have supported my recovery. I am committed to being the best person I can for my family, friends and fans. Jah Bless.”

Prior to the arrest, Channer had been actively promoting new music from CHNNR, including a December 15th, 2025 Instagram post in which he described the project as reflecting his sobriety and personal recovery. He has continued sharing messages tied to mental health and new music in the days following his arrest.

At this time, neither Fire From The Gods nor Channer’s former bandmates have publicly commented on the matter beyond Channer’s statement.

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