attacker arrested Dave Chappelle Appeared in court Friday at the Hollywood Bowl with a hand tied in a sling as he pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges and pleaded guilty to $30,000 bail.
23-year-old Isaiah Lee was charged with battery, possession of a weapon with intent to assault, unauthorized access to the stage area during a performance, and an act that delays the event or interferes with the performer when He had allegedly attacked the comedian. Wednesday night.
A judge ordered Lee to remain at least 100 yards from the chapel where he is performing and from his residence, as well as 100 yards from the Hollywood Bowl.
Lee, who faces an 18-month prison sentence if convicted, ran on stage at the Hollywood Bowl with a knife, hidden inside a replica gun, as he attempted to tackle the 48-year-old Chappelle. .
The comedian was able to sideline Lee and did no harm. The attacker was then arrested on the spot and taken to the hospital with a broken arm.
23-year-old Isaiah Lee (right) appeared in court Friday and pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges for assaulting comedian Dave Chappelle.
A judge ordered Lee to remain at least 100 yards from the chapel where he is performing and from his residence, as well as 100 yards from the Hollywood Bowl.
Lee allegedly jumped onto the stage and tried to attack Chappell, who was able to drive away his attacker and avoid injury. Lee was carrying a knife and a replica gun inside
Lee broke an arm after being arrested by security and taken off stage
In Friday’s court hearing, Lee’s lawyer said the man never branded his hidden weapon when he came on stage.
Lee is due back in court on May 20 for a pretrial hearing.
Chappell has yet to publicly react to the decision, but during a comedy show on Thursday night, the comedian revealed that he spoke with the attacker.
Chappell said he asked police if he could talk to Lee, who came on stage carrying a replica gun with a knife. The police allowed him to go to the room where he was being kept.
‘I needed to talk to him,’ Chappelle told his audience Thursday night at the Belly Room, a secret 70-chair room in LA’s Comedy Store. Hollywood Reporter,
Chappelle said the attack was aimed at Lee’s grandmother from Brooklyn, who had been kicked out of her neighborhood due to gentrification, and the stunt was to draw attention to the issue.
He joked about the situation with fellow comedian Chris Rock, who was slapped by Will Smith during the Oscars ceremony, exclaiming: ‘At least you’ve been smacked by some iconic person! I was slapped by a homeless man putting leaves in his hair.’
On Wednesday, Chappell said through a representative that he did not want the incident to “overshadow” a legendary event, referencing his Netflix comedy show.
‘Dave Chappelle celebrated four nights of comedy and music, setting record-breaking sales for a comedian at the Hollywood Bowl…. refused.’
“As unfortunate and disturbing as the incident was, Chappell continued with the show,” his rep said.
Netflix and the Hollywood Bowl said they were cooperating with the police investigation into what happened.
Chappelle (pictured) mocked the incident and said that he spoke with Lee after the attack, claiming that Lee had performed the stunt to raise awareness of gentrification in Brooklyn.
The 23-year-old was taken into custody at the time of the incident, then taken to a hospital. he is in jail now
This is the weapon that Lee had when he tried to attack Chappell on stage
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon said Lee faces only misdemeanor charges for assault, adding that he will not pursue felony charges against him.
Gascon’s office—famously in favor of low-or-no-cash bonds—choose not to pursue the most severe line of punishment on concealed weapons.
Instead, he referred the case to LA City Attorney Mike Feuer, recommending a misdemeanor charge because “the evidence as presented did not constitute a felony,” according to ABC.
When announcing the charges Thursday, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer cast a shadow over the DA, saying, ‘My office takes protecting public safety very seriously.’
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon (pictured) failed to pursue felony charges against Lee, who is now facing misdemeanor charges only for the assault on Chappell.
Gascon has been vocal about his belief that the criminal justice system needs a greater focus on intervention and rehabilitation, blasting ‘tough on crime’ policies as racist and failure.
And after his first 100 days in office, he explained the changes he had made to the city’s justice system—including limiting the use of sentencing enhancements.
There are more than 100 enhancements to the California Penal Code that can add time to a conviction depending on the situation, most of which date back to the time when California was experiencing increased crime in the 1980s and 1990s .
But under Gascon’s rule, those enhancements have been greatly reduced, with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office with 5,138 enhancements during its first three months — a 71 percent drop from a year earlier.
In their first three months, prosecutors filed only 106 gun enhancements – a reduction of 85 percent.
Gascon barred prosecutors from charging the teens as adults, regardless of the seriousness of their alleged crimes.