Antonio Brown is trying to use Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law to get a second-degree attempted murder charge dismissed.
The former NFL wide receiver filed a motion earlier this week to dismiss the case stemming from a shooting incident outside an amateur boxing match in Miami in May, according to ESPN.
The 37-year-old Brown had traveled to Dubai and spent six months in the United Arab Emirates following the alleged encounter before he was extradited by U.S. Marshals to Florida last month, before entering a not-guilty plea.
He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
“Brown’s use of force on May 16, 2025, was fully justified,” the motion stated, according to ESPN. “Brown reasonably believed that the alleged victim intended to cause him serious harm.”
Monday’s motion was shared with ESPN by Brown’s lawyer, Mark Eiglarsh, the report stated.
Richard L. Cooper, an attorney for the alleged victim Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, told the outlet that the defense motion was “a farcical reimagining” of what transpired.
The 2005 “Stand Your Ground” law states that a person can use deadly force in self-defense with immunity from prosecution without having to first attempt to retreat.
The most noted cited case involving the Florida statute involved the 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, who was acquitted of second-degree murder charges the following year after the judge instructed the jury to consider the law’s “fight-versus-retreat principles.”
According to Brown’s motion, Nantambu exhibited a history of violence toward him, including a 30-day jail sentence in Dubai over an alleged jewelry theft.
Brown, who was released on $25,000 bail and placed on house arrest with an ankle monitor, claimed that Nantambu attacked him while the seven-time Pro Bowler was attempting to get to his car.
But police claimed Brown punched the alleged victim in the face as part of an attack with two other men.
“By the grace of God, [Nantambu] was not killed,” Cooper said at a November hearing.
Prosecutors also have claimed that Brown “chases [Nantambu] down and shoots at him at point blank range,” and that he was seen on video with a gun in his hand near the victim.
The motion filed this week by Brown’s lawyer admitted that he fired the gun as “a warning shot,” but claimed that he “reasonably feared” Nantambu also was armed and made an “aggressive movement” toward the retired player.
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