Winston Marshall, a founding member of folk-rock group Mumford & Sons, is leaving the group, he announced on Thursday. Marshall says the decision is based on his desire to “speak freely” about political issues.
Marshall announced his hiatus from the band in March after sparking a social media backlash by tweeting admiration for “Unmasked,” a book by right-wing writer-activist Andy Ngo that attacked far-left militant groups collectively known as antifa.
Marshall, who was accused online of endorsing the far right, said Thursday that “nothing could be further from the truth. I condemn unequivocally all political extremism, be it of the Right or Left.” Since then, he has refrained from speaking out politically, but it now seems he will leave music in favor of speech.
Marshall, who plays guitar and banjo with the group, said his bandmates had “invited me to continue with them,” but he had decided to leave so that he could “speak freely without them suffering the consequences.”