Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown has filed to have his attempted murder charge dismissed.
Brown’s attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, filed the motion in Miami based on Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, according to Anthony Olivieri of ESPN. The motion argues that Brown’s use of force was “fully justified” because he “reasonably believed that the alleged victim intended to cause him serious harm.”
The 2005 state law states that an individual can use deadly force in self-defense without having “the duty to retreat.” Brown and his lawyers are arguing that anything Brown did was protected under that law, and that Brown had reason to assume the alleged victim, Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, was a threat to him.
Nantambu’s attorney, Richard L. Cooper, suggested Brown’s motion relied on “a farcical reimagining” of what actually transpired.
Brown is facing attempted murder charges over his role in a shooting at a celebrity boxing event in May. Video that surfaced at the time claimed to show Brown getting involved in a large fight after a Miami celebrity kickboxing event put on by the popular Internet streamer Adin Ross. The video, which can you can see here, showed Brown getting tackled to the ground by multiple unidentified individuals and responding by kicking one of those individuals. Reports claimed that Brown fired gunshots during the incident.
Brown was briefly handcuffed and detained by responding police officers amid the melee but was not ultimately placed under arrest. He later posted on X that he was “jumped by multiple individuals” who were attempting to steal his jewelry. Brown added that he would be pursuing legal action against his assailants.
If convicted, Brown faces up to 30 years in prison. He is currently under house arrest as he awaits trial.
