 Story highlights A member of a U.S. rock band wipes the Russian flag between his legs 
 
 State-run media report Russia's Interior Ministry has opened a criminal case 
 
 The band left Russia Sunday, CNN has learned 
 
 Russia has opened a criminal case on an American band after one of its members stuffed the Russian flag into his pants, pulled it out his backside and whipped it between his legs, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported Monday. The scandal erupted after a video surfaced on YouTube of the band's bassist, Jared Hasselhoff, shouting "don't tell Putin" before shoving a Russian flag into his pants during a July 31 concert in Odessa, Ukraine. “After a check of actions … committed by a foreign musician at a rock concert in Odessa, Ukraine, a specialized investigative unit of Russia’s Interior Ministry in the Krasnodar Territory launched a criminal case regarding the desecration of the national flag,” the ministry said in a statement. Inside the airport they were attacked by a gang of self-described Cossacks who later posted a YouTube video showing them apparently trying to strangle Hasselhoff with an American flag – which they later placed on the floor and stomped on. The YouTube video of the apparent flag desecration was flooded with angry Russian-language comments. Journalists later quoted the band as saying that all items that the band throws into the crowd must first pass through the bassist's pants. Bloodhound Gang was scheduled to perform Friday at the Kubana Festival, an annual event featuring about 50 international rock bands, held in Anapa, in the Kuban region of southern Russia. The band told CNN that it left Russia and was not deported. A member of the band's crew, who asked to not be named for security reasons, told CNN the band was attacked Saturday by Russian nationalists inside Anapa airport in Krasnodar Krai. Russia’s Criminal Code states that “foreign nationals … who commit a crime beyond the boundaries of the Russian Federation are subject to criminal liability in line with this code if their crime is aimed against the interests of the Russian Federation or a Russian national.” 
 
 Desecration of the Russian flag is punishable by up to a year in prison, according to Article 329 of the Russian Criminal Code, in line with which the case was launched. Russian prosecutors in the Krasnodar Territory said they had begun an investigation into local music festivals, including Kubana, where Bloodhound Gang was scheduled to perform. Russian and Ukrainian lawmakers have also proposed permanently banning Bloodhound Gang members from entering their countries. US Ambassador Michael McFaul called the incident “disgusting” in a Twitter message but said the US Constitution’s First Amendment protects flag desecrators from punishment in the United States.
– Edward Snowden hasn't done great things for US-Russia relations. Now meet the Bloodhound Gang. The American rock band was performing in Ukraine last week when bassist Jared Hasselhoff grabbed a Russian flag thrown from the audience, shoved it down the front of his pants, and pulled it out again from the rear. "Don't tell Putin," he joked before the stunt. Result: The video blew up in Russia, and the government has launched a criminal investigation into desecrating the flag, reports Ria Novosti. The band cut short its tour and returned to the US over the weekend, with conflicting reports on whether it was deported or left voluntarily, reports CNN. Their van got pelted with eggs on the way to airport, and once inside, Russian nationalists roughed up band members and stomped on a US flag. (That video also is making the rounds.) Hasselhoff later apologized and said he wasn't making a serious political statement, reports the Christian Science Monitor. The band might not get a ton of sympathy from Americans, given band leader Jimmy Pop's statement on stage after the flag gag. "Russia is better than America, so I disapproved of that," he said.