Blythe was arrested when his band visited the country to play a concert. The arrest was over the death of a fan who suffered fatal injuries from stage diving at previous concert by the band in Czech Republic. Authorities contend Blythe had something to do with the injuries which caused the fan's death days after the concert, but fan filmed footage from the concert casts doubt on Blythe's involvement because it appears the head injury occurred after the fan attempted to jump on the stage and was pulled off by a member of the audience or security (it's unclear in the video). See story about video footage here.

Blythe did an interview with Rolling Stone and one of the questions they asked was "Did the Czech government try and contact you prior to the arrest?" He responded: "The Czech authority sent a letter to the Justice Department, and our government told them basically where they can get off. They said, "No, we won't cooperate." I don't know if the American government thought there was not enough basis for them to pursue an investigation. Regardless, what I'm a little bit steamed about is the fact that they didn't have the courtesy to contact me – in any way, shape or form – and say, 'Hey, you're wanted for manslaughter in a foreign country.'"

They then asked him, "Do you feel the U.S. government should have gotten involved in getting you released?" and he responded, "That's a sticky question, because the Czech legal system is different, and from what I understand, I was given due process. I was not imprisoned in America. That was the first thing that I had to realize and keep in mind – "We're playing by different rules here." I certainly would have appreciated a little bit more concern on my part. I saw one person from the [U.S.] Embassy. One. And they didn't really do much for me. They were just like, 'Are they torturing you?' 'No.' 'OK, goodbye.' I didn't hear anything from them."