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Jonathan Majors’ Attorney Claims Victim Has Recanted Assault Allegations

Henry Nicholls/Reuters
Henry Nicholls/Reuters

An attorney for Jonathan Majors has claimed the woman who accused him of assaulting her on Friday night has withdrawn her allegations—and submitted statements to prove it.

“Jonathan Majors is completely innocent and is provably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows,” attorney Priya Chaudhry said in a statement on Sunday. “We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently. This evidence includes video footage from the vehicle where this episode took place, witness testimony from the driver and others who both saw and heard the episode, and most importantly, two written statements from the woman recanting these allegations. All the evidence proves that Mr. Majors is entirely innocent and did not assault her whatsoever.”

Chaudhry also claimed the incident happened because the victim had an “emotional crisis” that eventually required hospitalization.

“The NYPD is required to make an arrest in these situations, and this is the only reason Mr. Majors was arrested,” she wrote. “We expect these charges to be dropped soon.”

Majors was arrested by the New York City Police Department on Saturday for allegedly slapping a woman, causing a laceration behind her ear, and grabbing her by the neck in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. TMZ reported that the woman is Majors’ girlfriend, and the argument broke out as they were in a taxi heading home from a Brooklyn bar.

Majors was charged with several misdemeanor accounts of assault and harassment and was released on Saturday night. His next court date is May 8.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office would not comment on whether they had received any statements recanting the allegations, instead forwarding the complaint against Majors.

In that complaint, an NYPD officer says the victim told him that she “observed the defendant strike her about the face with an open hand, causing substantial pain and a laceration behind her ear.”

It continues: “She observed the defendant grab her hand, causing swelling, bruising, and substantial pain to her finger... she observed the defendant put his hand on her neck, causing bruising and substantial pain.”

A press contact for Majors referred The Daily Beast to Chaudhry, who did not immediately respond to questions about if or when the woman’s new statements were filed, or with what entity they were filed.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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