Sandy MaloneLos Angeles, CA – The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office doesn’t plan to bring felony charges against the man who attacked Dave Chappelle on stage at the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday night.
The incident occurred at about 10:40 p.m. on May 3 as Chappelle was performing at the famous venue and 23-year-old Isaiah Lee climbed on stage and attacked him, CBS News reported.
Video of the incident showed that no one tried to intervene as Lee climbed up from the audience and lunged at Chappelle.
The comedian was thrown to the ground but immediately jumped to his feet as security swarmed his attacker.
Even comedian Jamie Foxx helped to apprehend Lee.
Video from the venue showed that Chappelle’s security team roughed up the man who had attacked their boss.
New Footage of the #DaveChappelle incident shows the man who attached Dave Chappelle was armed with a firearm pic.twitter.com/Yw3S3GPBth
— No Jumper (@nojumper) May 4, 2022
The idiot getting beaten down after attacking Dave Chappelle at Hollywood Bowl pic.twitter.com/Ft0FIUyjWv
— Jed Simon (@JEDSIMON) May 4, 2022
It turned out the attacker had a replica gun fitted with a real knife concealed inside his bag when he attacked Chappelle, CBS News reported.
Authorities are investigating how Lee got the weapon past the metal detectors and other security measures in place at the Hollywood Bowl.
The venue is operated jointly by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“The safety of our artists, visitors and staff is the L.A. Phil’s top priority,” Sophie Jefferies, the Philharmonic’s director of public relations, wrote in a statement on Wednesday. “The incident… remains an active investigation, and we are unable to comment further at this time.”
Video from after the incident showed Lee handcuffed to a stretcher and being loaded into an ambulance.
Solid work by Dave Chappelle's security. This guy got what was coming to him.pic.twitter.com/vsX193n6HV
— Steven Crowder (@scrowder) May 4, 2022
Police arrested him on charges of felony assault with a deadly weapon, the New York Post reported.
He was held on $30,000 bail.
But on Thursday, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said that his office would not bring felony charges against the man who attacked the famous and controversial comedian at the Hollywood Bowl, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Gascón said prosecutors had determined that while criminal conduct had occurred, Lee’s attack on Chappelle didn’t constitute felony conduct.
The district attorney’s office doesn’t prosecute misdemeanors in the city, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Gascón said his office had referred the case to the Los Angeles city attorney’s office for consideration of misdemeanor charges.
Sources told the Los Angeles Times that prosecutors didn’t think the case rose to the level of felony assault with a deadly weapon because Lee hadn’t actually taken the weapon out of his bag during the attack.
Public records showed Chappelle’s attacker most recently lived with his brothers in Redondo Beach but he told police he was homeless and had been working as a day laborer, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Lee is an aspiring rapper who has recorded under the name “NONAME_TRAPPER.”
He wrote a rap about the comedian he attacked in 2020 entitled “Dave Chappelle” on an album called “Born & die in the trap,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
His brother told Rolling Stone that Lee was a gentle person.
“I don’t have anything negative to say about Isaiah,” Aaron Lee said. “He’s a performing artist who tries to stay as positive as possible. He does have a history of mental health issues. He does take medicine.”
“Maybe he missed out on taking his prescription. But he’s not the type to just lash out. I don’t understand,” Aaron Lee told Rolling Stone.
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