After over four hours of deliberation, the six-person jury in the Jonathan Majors case found him guilty of reckless assault in the third degree and guilty of harassment, not guilty of intentional assault in the third degree, and not guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Jonathan Majors Domestic Assault Trial
This story contains details of alleged domestic violence that could be upsetting for some readers.
The defense rested on Wednesday and closing arguments began on Thursday. Majors did not testify. During closing arguments, Majors’ attorney Priya Chaudhry said, “His fear of what happens when a Black man in America calls 911 came true.”
Sentencing will not take place until February 6. The sentence could be up to one year in prison.
Majors was arrested after calling 911 on March 25 after he found his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, unconscious in their apartment. Jabbari had a fractured finger and a cut behind her ear consistent with being hit.
The charges against Majors were brought by the state of New York, not by Jabbari herself. It was a criminal trial, which means the evidence had to show the defendant was guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
According to Jabbari’s testimony, she and Majors were in the backseat of a car when she saw a text message on Majors’ phone from another woman about kissing him. When Jabbari tried to take the phone from Majors, he pried her finger away, twisted her forearm, and hit her head, which Jabbari said caused her “excruciating pain.” The charge of harassment is related to Majors throwing Jabbari back into the car as she tried to exit, which the defense argued was to save her from traffic.
Surveillance video shows the altercation that took place outside of the car, but not the events that took place in the car. Other evidence included text messages from September 2022 in which Majors threatened to kill himself as he told Jabbari not to go to the hospital for a head injury because he was worried about her being questioned; an audio recording of an argument from the same month includes Majors telling Jabbari she should support him better by acting more like Coretta Scott King and Michelle Obama; pictures of Jabbari’s injuries; footage of Jabbari at a club after the car incident and before she returned to the apartment and took sleeping pills; and body-camera footage from police officers.
Jabbari’s attorney Ross Kramer released a statement saying, “We are gratified to see justice served by today’s guilty verdict. Ms. Jabbari testified publicly and truthfully, even though reliving these traumatic events on the witness stand was obviously painful. We are grateful to the jurors and the Judge for their attention and patience, and to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for their hard work and support.
“Ms. Jabbari’s resolve to see this case through to the end demonstrates her tremendous strength and resilience. Unfortunately, for every survivor like Ms. Jabbari who comes forward to hold their abuser accountable, there are many others who believe that they cannot. We hope that her actions will inspire other survivors to speak their truth and seek justice.”
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg said, “At the Manhattan D.A.’s Office, we are committed to centering survivors in all of our work. The evidence presented throughout this trial illustrated a cycle of psychological and emotional abuse, and escalating patterns of coercion far too common across the many intimate partner violence cases we see each and every day. Today, a jury determined that the pattern of abuse and coercion culminated with Mr. Majors assaulting and harassing his girlfriend. We thank the jury for its service and the survivor for bravely telling her story despite having to relive her trauma on the stand.”
Disney and Marvel have not yet publicly commented on Majors’ arrest or guilty verdict. The actor has portrayed Kang the Conquerer and his variants in recent Marvel Cinematic Universe projects and is slated to appear in more films as the major villain of the Multiverse Saga. Sources say Marvel executives have considered replacing Kang with another villain character, possibly Dr. Doom. With the guilty verdict and potential jail time, Marvel may still make this switch or may recast Kang.
Majors appeared in seasons one and two of “Loki” and in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” The Multiverse Saga is leading up to “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” and then “Avengers: Secret Wars” in 2026 and 2027 respectively.
Disney removed the release of “Magazine Dreams,” a Searchlight Pictures film starring Majors, from their release calendar. The film originally debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January and was supposed to be released theatrically this month.
Majors was dropped by his management team and PR firm earlier this year.
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