Pitchfork

Photo by George Chin

We knew things were getting a bit rocky for Kevin "Skwerl" Cogill earlier this week, when it was learned that the FBI had arrested Mr. Cogill following suspicion that the Antiquiet blogger had violated federal copyright law. Cogill had admitted to leaking nine previously unreleased tracks purportedly from Guns N' Roses' perennially eventual Chinese Democracy LP via Antiquiet back in June.

What we didn't know was this: according to the Los Angeles Times, Cogill faces up to three years in prison and $250,000 in fines, seeing as he's now the first California resident to be charged under an anti-piracy law that makes it a felony to distribute a copyrighted work on computer networks before its release. Yikes! Careful where you put that Skeletal Lamping, everybody.

Cogill was released shortly after his Wednesday arrest on $10,000 bond, and was not required to enter a plea at this time. But according to former Guns N' Roses guitarist (and amateur law buff?) Slash, Cogill's potential return to the clink couldn't come soon enough.

"I hope he rots in jail," Slash told the Times. "It's going to affect the sales of the record, and it's not fair. The Internet is what it is, and you have to deal with it accordingly, but I think if someone goes and steals something, it's theft." I only wish he'd suggested they "throw him to the Snakepit."

Axl Rose and company also managed to get out a statement that, though intentionally vague, may bode a little better for Cogill. Said the Guns N' Roses camp, according to the Times: "Presently, though we don't support this guy's actions at that level, our interest is in the original source. We can't comment publicly at this time as the investigation is ongoing."

Ongoing too, as ever, is the wait for a proper release date for Chinese Democracy-- which, it would seem, would alone solve damn near all these problems.