The Astrals

THE ASTRALS are a volunteer‑driven victims’ advocacy network that grew out of Savannah, Georgia. They characterizes the group as an international group of people that serves to assist in community policing and public safety, primarily acting as a third‑party reporting service for survivors of violent crime. While the organization operates anonymously, it intentionally adopts comic‑book imagery: Aliases, logos and occasionally a bat‑signal–like spotlight to make itself more approachable and less intimidating. Members emphasize altruism and anonymity; the aim is to shine light on silent, invisible crimes and ensure survivors feel safe enough to come forward.

The Astrals organize themselves in local chapters. The founding Savannah branch, established in 2016, included members such as Knight, Reflex, Apex and Koa; it focused on giving survivor a voice, running fund‑raisers and providing homeless aid. The Ann Arbor, Michigan branch operates an anonymous tip line, liaises with police and also supports homeless outreach and fund‑raising. In Tennessee, Discordia leads a chapter that works on crime prevention, homeless outreach, and cyber investigation. The Edinburgh, Scotland branch, launched in 2019, supports by offering victims an alternative reporting route and providing homeless outreach. The organization argues these branches are needed because violent crimes, particularly sexual assault, are chronically under‑reported. Department of Justice data cited on their FAQ show that from 2014 to 2017, fewer than half of violent crimes and only about a third of rapes or sexual assaults were reported to police, so alternative reporting channels could help extend law enforcement’s reach.

Anyone can be an Astral as long as they refuse to be a bystander.

The group traces its origins to 2016, when Knight, then a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), participated in a sting operation targeting individuals who were dealing drugs to first-year students. Working anonymously revealed how powerful anonymity could be, and this experience inspired Knight to create a group that would use aliases to help survivors. In 2017, Knight approached a fellow student, Reflex, with a proposal for an anonymous tip line, and together they formally created The Astrals.

In early 2018, a journalist at SCAD’s student newspaper alerted The Astrals to alleged sex‑crime cover‑ups at the university, an episode that coined the term “The Blacklist Case.” By examining SCAD’s federally mandated Clery Act reports, The Astrals discovered that the university had reported zero sexual crimes on or off campus for five consecutive years. This discovery, combined with a video testimony from a former SCAD security officer, and statements from 15 survivors, convinced Knight and his colleagues that something systemic was happening. Savannah’s interim police chief Mark Revenew advised them that misreporting Clery statistics could constitute a federal crime and urged them to gather witnesses or evidence.

Between 2018 and 2019, The Astrals collected testimonies from students, security staff and alumni. By collaborating with private investigator John Perry in 2019, they expanded their dossier to 35 testimonies and learned about SCAD’s alleged connection to the Anneewakee Treatment Center. During this period they also met Savannah City Aldermen Bill Higgins and Kurtis Purtee, who helped draft a College Protection Bill aimed at holding universities accountable for mishandling crime reports.

In August of 2021, The Astrals held a press conference with the Savannah City Council and newly appointed police chief Roy Minter to present their findings. Tea Lynor, a survivor, shared her story, and Alderman Purtee publicly endorsed the College Protection Bill. Despite these actions, local media largely ignored the revelations. The Astrals noted that SCAD updated its 2016 Clery statistics on the day of the press conference and monitored their social media posts for weeks thereafter.

The Astrals were promoted as an official resource for those wanting to report rape and sexual assault in Savannah, GA in April of 2021. Savannah city officials met with The Astrals during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Alderman Kurtis Purtee and the Rape Crisis Center held a press conference that day to bring attention to sexual assault cases, and the event explicitly involved The Astrals as one of the groups providing resources to victims.

The Astrals’ campaign continued through 2022, when they partnered with survivors of the Anneewakee scandal to merge their goals with the College Protection Bill. In 2023, The Astrals obtained a settlement letter offering a rape survivor $36,000 in exchange for silence and documented allegations that SCAD retaliated against professors and students who complained about safety, while protests accused the university of gentrifying Savannah. Former professors alleged that SCAD ignored student rapes, offered hush money and retaliated against faculty, even inventing allegations to remove perceived threats.

In 2024, the FBI declined to investigate the case despite pressure from Senator Raphael Warnock’s office. Consequently, The Astrals sought national media attention. Knight reached out to two New York Times reporters, and by August they were coordinating coverage. During this time the group connected more than 40 individuals willing to testify to the Department of Education and learned from someone close to Paula Wallace, SCAD's founder and president, that the Paula Wallace was allegedly behind the cover‑ups. By January of 2025, The Astrals had spoken to over 200 people about SCAD’s handling of assaults, and Knight planned to publicly release their findings. The group hoped that 2025 would be the year survivors could speak without fear.

Knight summarized these allegations on Reddit in March of 2026. In his post he explained that The Astrals had spent a decade investigating SCAD’s alleged practice of giving survivors hush money, intimidating witnesses and banning journalists who criticized the university. He wrote that he had spoken to more than 200 people and was still collecting testimonies. Knight detailed cases in which SCAD allegedly ignored reports of domestic and sexual violence, where professors joked about bruised students, and where survivors felt compelled to attempt suicide because they received no support. The post also described a student nicknamed “Pink,” who was expelled after criticizing tuition policies. Knight’s called for anyone with information to come forward with information. The post went viral on Reddit and Instagram.

As of early 2026 the group continues to press for accountability at SCAD and support survivors. Their efforts have catalyzed conversations about campus safety, non‑profit governance and the responsibilities of arts institutions. Though the SCAD case has been their main investigation, they've been involved in missing person's cases, other sexual assault cases, as well as potential cover ups at military bases. Those investigations are still ongoing.

As of now, The Astrals are in the following locations:

Knight & Koa: LOS ANGELES, CA

Crusader: NEW YORK CITY

Discordia: TENNESSEE

Reflex: RICHMOND, VA

Apex: SAVANNAH, GA

The Amazing: ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN

Grey Shadow: GLASGOW, SCOTLAND

Want to learn more? Check out our Roster and the FaQ page.