Isaiah Lee, the man who attacked comedian Dave Chappelle onstage at the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday white armed with a knife embedded in a replica gun, was charged with four misdemeanors Thursday, rather than being charged with a felony.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, who was elected with the help of millions of dollars in spending by left-wing billionaire George Soros, sparked outrage when he declined to charge Lee with any felonies relating to the assault.
That left City Attorney Mike Feuer, who prosecutes misdemeanors within city limits. The Los Angeles Timesreported:
According to a declination filed by the district attorney’s office, Lee did not use the weapon in the assault and Chappelle was not injured, so a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon was not warranted.
Lee now faces one count each 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 the event or interferes with the performer, according to court documents.
…
Prosecutors noted that the knife doesn’t qualify as a dirk or dagger under state law because it was a folding knife in a retracted position, and that a stalking charge can’t be proved beyond a reasonable doubt because “no evidence was presented of a previous credible threat that might have caused [Chappelle] to be in reasonable fear of his safety.”
Comedian Howie Mandel partially blamed the attack on Chappelle on Will Smith’s attack on comedian Chris Rock during the Oscars in March, after Rock made fun of Smith’s wife. Mandel said that Smith had “opened the floodgates” for attacks.
Some comedy club owners were furious that Lee would only be charged with misdemeanors, according to Fox News:
This is shocking to hear,” New York comedy club owner Dani Zoldan told Fox News Digital Thursday. “The individual that attacked Dave Chappelle did so with a knife. It was planned in advance. I’m curious what they would consider felony conduct. People should be held accountable for their actions. Not charging this person appropriately sends a message that it’s OK to physically harm someone. It’s really outrageous.
“Will Smith got an Oscar after he slapped Chris Rock and now this. LA is awesome, and residents deserve to live there violence-free. Politicians and police need to do their job right.”
Gascon is facing a vigorous recall effort, after a string of high-profile crimes and lenient sentences for convicted criminals.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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