Jonathan Majors Guilty of Assault, Harassment

Actor could face up to a year in prison in domestic violence case
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 18, 2023 3:12 PM CST
Jonathan Majors Guilty of Assault, Harassment
Jonathan Majors leaves a courtroom at the Manhattan criminal courts in New York, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

After around four hours of deliberations over three days, a New York City jury has found Jonathan Majors guilty of two of the four charges he faced in a domestic violence case. The actor was found guilty of reckless assault in the third degree and harassment, per the Hollywood Reporter. The 34-year-old was acquitted of aggravated assault and of a different assault charge connected to the same March 25 incident involving former partner Grace Jabbari. He will be sentenced on Feb. 6 and could face up to a year in prison, further derailing what had been considered a promising career before his March arrest.

Majors' trial began late last month. The jury had to decide between two "starkly different accounts" of what happened between Majors and Jabbari during a car ride, Deadline reports. Jabbari testified that Majors assaulted her after she saw a text message from another woman on his phone and tried to grab the device. The actor did not testify, but his lawyers argued that Jabbari was the aggressor and had spread a "fantasy" to try to bring him down, the AP reports. Majors was arrested after he found her unconscious in the apartment they shared and called 911. Police said she had injuries including a fractured finger. In closing arguments, Majors' lawyer Priya Chaudhry said, "This entire case is built on Grace's lies—and, boy, does Grace lie."

Prosecutors said Majors had engaged in "control, domination, manipulation, and abuse" during the relationship. They played a recording of an argument last year in which Majors declared he was a "great man" and needed a partner like Michelle Obama or Coretta Scott King, per the Reporter. In a text message exchange after an apparent incident last year, Jabbari said she would tell doctors she "bumped her head" if she got painkillers from a hospital. Majors replied that it could "lead to an investigation even if you do lie and they suspect something." Majors' film and TV credits include Creed III and Loki. After his arrest, he lost roles and endorsement deals, and Marvel scaled back plans to make him the main villain in upcoming Avengers movies. (More Jonathan Majors stories.)

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