Following Jonathan Majors’ virtual appearance in a status conference involving the charges against him on Tuesday, the actor’s attorney has described the case as “a witch hunt.”
The star’s attorney, Priya Chaudhry, made a statement after new details were added to the complaint. The full quote is as follows (via Deadline):
“We have provided the District Attorney with irrefutable evidence that the woman is lying, including video proof showing nothing happened, especially not where she claimed. We did this with the explicit promise from the DA that they would not ‘fix’ their case and change it as we proved the woman is lying.
“This is a witch hunt against Jonathan Majors, driven by baseless claims. Instead of dismissing the allegations in the face of the woman’s clear lies, the DA has adjusted the charges to match the woman’s new lies. To be clear, there are no new charges against Mr. Majors. Now, we have obtained even more video evidence of his innocence, but we are hesitant to share it, for fear the DA will tip the woman off to change her story again.
“The criminal justice system is saturated with explicit and implicit bias. When Mr. Majors showed a white police officer the injuries the woman caused him, the white officer got in Mr. Majors’ face and taunted him, saying that if the officer were to slap Mr. Majors, the officer wouldn’t break his finger. None of the white officers present investigated the assault of Mr. Majors. Worse, the District Attorney has not indicated any intention to pursue charges against the woman, or even investigate the truth.”
What are Jonathan Majors’ charges?
Jonathan Majors is facing three counts of third-degree assault, second-degree aggravated harassment, three counts of third-degree attempted assault, and second-degree harassment. Police cite that Majors allegedly struck “[the victim] about the face with an open hand, causing substantial pain and a laceration behind her ear.” Additionally, he allegedly grabbed her hand and neck, “causing bruising and substantial pain.”
A previous report from ABC News notes that Majors made the 911 call himself, which police responded to. The call was “purportedly over concerns about his girlfriend, whom he lives with in a penthouse apartment in the Chelsea neighborhood.” After police arrived, the girlfriend told officers they were in a taxi together after returning from a bar and that Majors physically attacked her. Majors was then arrested after police noticed marks on the woman.
Majors’ criminal defense lawyer previously stated that Majors is “provably innocent” and expects charges to be dropped due to multiple witnesses and written retractions from the victim, followed by a later claim that there is video evidence of Majors’ innocence.