Zach Hickerson, the brother of Hayden Panettiere's ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson, was arrested for disorderly conduct on Saturday following a bar brawl involving Brian at a restaurant in Greenville, South Carolina.
Speaking to TMZ after his release from jail, Zach said public misconceptions about Panettiere's death had helped escalate the confrontation. An eyewitness told the outlet the brothers were heckled about the actress's death before Zach was taken into custody.
"This is the problem with y'all putting stuff on the Internet: People fill in their own holes and then they want to attack people for no reason," Zach said.
"It's just super-frustrating all that we've been through and all the rumors that get started and then people believe them, and then they attack as a result of the rumors," he continued. Zach added that the situation "pi**es me off" and said he would "eventually" clarify falsehoods tied to the case.
Brian, 37, and Zach had been drinking for hours at a back table of the Wild Wing Cafe when the confrontation began, according to the eyewitness.
How the brawl unfolded
The eyewitness told TMZ that about five middle-aged people were seated at a nearby table, and women in the group had confronted the Hickerson brothers at their table several times. It was unclear whether the women were attempting to de-escalate tension among the men in their own group.
The situation worsened when Zach confronted one of the male patrons, and the pair became physical as they moved toward the bar, the eyewitness said. Brian then got up from the table and headed to the bar himself, drawing the attention of other diners. A table was knocked over and glasses were thrown to the floor.
A restaurant worker was seen standing in front of Brian during the melee. Wearing a green hoodie and light-colored jeans, he picked up a bar stool and flung it backward before the situation was brought under control.
Footage of the incident showed Hickerson being lifted off the ground and carried out of the restaurant by a man in a red baseball cap, while a bartender shouted, "Let him go!"
Police response and arrests
Brian and Zach were in conflict with other people outside the restaurant when police arrived, the eyewitness said. Brian was later seen in handcuffs, sitting on the curb with a cut on his face, shouting that police had leaked details about Panettiere's death. A source told TMZ he yelled, "GPD leaked it when my girlfriend died."
Brian ultimately avoided arrest and was released. Zach, however, was reportedly heavily intoxicated and "yelling profanities," which led to his arrest on the disorderly conduct charge.
Panettiere's death and the ongoing investigation
Brian and Zach were both present at the Greenville condo where Panettiere was pronounced dead at age 36 on August 16. According to the Greenville Police Department's incident report, Zach told officers that Brian had been sleeping in a separate room of the Airbnb when Zach arrived and found the actress unresponsive in a chair.
Zach said Brian administered Narcan, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, and that the two performed CPR while on the phone with 911 dispatchers.
Brian has since met with the Drug Enforcement Administration as it investigates Panettiere's suspected overdose death, TMZ previously reported. Local and federal investigators reportedly believe the actress was sold drugs that may have caused her death, and authorities are now focused on identifying the suspected dealer. Panettiere's toxicology reports and official cause of death have not yet been released.
Hickerson's history of domestic violence
Panettiere, best known for playing Claire Bennet in the television series "Heroes" and Juliette Barnes in "Nashville," had a volatile, on-and-off relationship with Hickerson beginning in 2018. Brian was arrested and charged in connection with domestic abuse involving Panettiere on multiple occasions.
In 2021, he pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend, resulting in jail time, probation, domestic violence classes, $500 in restitution and a five-year protective order, according to People.
Panettiere wrote about the volatile and often abusive relationship in her memoir, published on May 19, just three months before she died of a suspected drug overdose.
Zach Hickerson's earlier statement
Zach had previously told TMZ: "There are a lot of assumptions, speculations and accusations currently swirling. The truth will come out as the authorities complete and release additional details from the investigation. And that is important because the people who loved and adored Hayden deserve the truth."
He described Panettiere as "one of the most precious individuals on this earth" and argued that her friends and family should be allowed to mourn without "additional noise."
"At this time, I want to clarify my involvement in effort to keep the focus on the fact that we lost one of the most precious individuals on this earth and to allow those that cared about her to mourn without additional noise, chaos, and misinformation being created and propagated by the media as well as the public," he said.
