Dave Chappelle's Attacker Won't Be Charged With Felony: Report

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Comedian Dave Chappelle talks with the media while campaigning for Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang on January 30, 2020 in North Charleston, South Carolina. The comedian has endorsed the candidate and performs the second of two South Carolina campaign benefit shows Thursday evening in Charleston.
The D.A.'s office declined to file felony charges against the man who attacked Dave Chappelle.

There has been no shortage of reactions after Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage at Netflix Is A Joke Festival. The comedian was handling his duties on stage when an individual, who was identified as Isaiah Lee, ran on stage and attempted to tackle Dave while carrying a replica gun with a knife. The result was a serious ass-beating that landed him in the back of an ambulance and an array of memes that followed.

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Despite the incredibly public incident, the District Attorney has opted out of charging Isaiah Lee with a felony. Per TMZ, The L.A. County D.A.'s Office determined that there wasn't enough evidence to pursue felony charges against Lee. "After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors determined that while criminal conduct occurred, the evidence as presented did not constitute felony conduct," the statement reads.

The D.A.'s office turned the case over to the city attorney who felt similarly about charging Lee with a felony. LAPD pushed for a felony when they turned over their findings of the investigation but the D.A. pushed back. There's also tension between L.A. County D.A. George Gascón and the LAPD because he's decided against filing felony charges in cases where they are typically filed.

While Dave has gone on to crack jokes about the attack, the brother of the Isaiah Lee told Rolling Stone that he was caught off guard by the news.

"I don’t have anything negative to say about Isaiah. 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 said.

We'll keep you posted on any updates surrounding the incident. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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