Antonio Brown is asking a Florida court to throw out a second degree attempted murder charge tied to a shooting outside an amateur boxing event in Miami.
His attorney filed the request this week, arguing that Florida’s Stand Your Ground statute shields him from prosecution in this case.
Brown’s current legal trouble began after the confrontation on May 16. He left the country soon after and remained in Dubai for six months. United States Marshals later returned him to Florida, where he entered a not guilty plea. If the state secures a conviction, he could serve up to 30 years in prison.
His attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, provided ESPN with the motion filed on Monday. In it, the defense claims that Brown only used force because he believed he was in immediate danger.
“Brown’s use of force on May 16, 2025, was fully justified,” the motion says. “Brown reasonably believed that the alleged victim intended to cause him serious harm.”
The man identified as the alleged victim, Zul Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, strongly disputes Brown’s version of events. His attorney, Richard L. Cooper, criticized the defense filing and stated that it does not reflect what occurred.
He described the motion as “a farcical reimagining” of the incident. Prosecutors support Nantambu’s position, stating that Brown “chases [Nantambu] down and shoots at him at point blank range.”
They also say there is video footage showing Brown holding a firearm close to the victim during the altercation.
Florida’s Stand Your Ground law has shaped many high profile cases since it was enacted in 2005. The statute allows individuals to use deadly force if they believe they are facing a serious threat and does not require them to retreat.
Brown’s legal team argues that the encounter in Miami did not occur without context. The motion claims that Nantambu had previously shown hostility toward Brown, including an incident in Dubai that led to a 30 day jail sentence for an alleged jewelry theft.
According to the defense, Brown was simply walking toward his car when Nantambu confronted him during the May incident.
Police reports describe a very different sequence. Investigators say Brown initiated the violence by striking Nantambu in the face and acting with two other men before the shot was fired.
“By the grace of God, [Nantambu] was not killed,” Cooper said during a court hearing in November.
Brown’s attorneys admit that he discharged a weapon but insist the gunshot was not intended to strike anyone. The motion states that it was “a warning shot” and argues that Brown “reasonably feared” Nantambu was armed and making an “aggressive movement” toward him.
Brown is currently free on $25,000 bail and is required to remain on house arrest while the court determines whether the Stand Your Ground law applies to his case.
