A judge refused to reduce bail Tuesday for the man accused of tackling Dave Chappelle during a comedy festival performance at the Hollywood Bowl.
Isaiah Lee, 23, appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom for the bail review hearing with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Armenui Amy Ashvanian, who declined a request to have the suspect’s bail reduced. Lee will remain jailed with bail set at $30,000.
If Lee posts bonds and is released from custody, he will have to remain at least 100 yards away from Chappelle, the Hollywood Bowl and any venue where Chappelle is performing. He also was ordered last week to stay away from Chappelle’s residences.
Lee is due back in court May 20 for a pretrial hearing.
Lee was charged last week by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office with single misdemeanor counts of battery, possession of a weapon with intent to assault, unauthorized access to the stage area during a performance and commission of an act that delays an event or interferes with a performer.
He pleaded not guilty during an initial court appearance last week.
The LAPD initially booked Lee on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon, but the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to file felony charges and referred his case to the city attorney for the lesser charges.
Lee is accused of rushing the stage May 3 at the Hollywood Bowl where Chappelle was performing as part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival. Lee had a replica handgun with a knife blade that could be ejected, the LAPD said, but the district attorney’s office said slow-motion video confirmed that Lee did not use the weapon.
Securty staff members subdued Lee, who suffered an arm injury during the scuffule. Among those running to protect Chappelle was actor/comedian Jamie Foxx.
Chappelle was not injured.
A man accused of attacking comedian Dave Chappelle faces charges. Annette Arreola reports for Today in LA on Friday May 6, 2022.
Chappelle’s attorney, Gabriel Colwell, called the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office decision to decline any felony charges in the case a “travesty of justice.”
“It’s a travesty of justice that (DA George) Gascón is refusing to prosecute this case as a felony,” Colwell told the New York Post on Friday. “The city attorney, who filed the case, is doing his job but DA Gascón should also do his job and charge this as a felony.
“…Entertainers in L.A. need to know this is a justice system that will protect them. There is no question here that when someone is violently assaulted by another in possession of a deadly weapon that it should be charged as a felony.”
The District Attorney’s Office issued a statement last week.
“After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors determined that while criminal conduct occurred, the evidence as presented did not constitute felony conduct,” the DA statement said.
Authorities have not identified a motive for the attack.
During a Comedy Store performance last week, Chappelle said he spoke with the attacker before he was taken away by paramedics. The comedian said he claimed he was seeking to raise awareness of the plight of his grandmother’s living situation in Brooklyn.
