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Comedian Chappelle: "Unpleasant and disturbing"
Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images
A 23-year-old man accused of assaulting comedian Dave Chappelle has been charged with four criminal offenses.
This was announced by the Los Angeles Attorney's Office on Thursday.
The authorities refrained from charging him with crimes that could result in heavier penalties.
Isaiah Lee, who rammed 48-year-old Chappelle onto the stage floor during his performance Tuesday night, was struck down after his attack.
Prosecutors charged Lee with assault, possession of a weapon with intent to assault and two other felonies.
The attack he is accused of "must have consequences," prosecutor Mike Feuer said in a video message.
Feuer announced the charges just hours after the city's chief prosecutor, District Attorney George Gascon, declined to prosecute Lee.
A Gascon spokesman said a review of the evidence had revealed no crime (US legal term:
felony
).
In the California legal system, a misdemeanor
carries
a maximum sentence of one year in prison.
In Los Angeles, Mike Feuer's agency prosecutes misdemeanors while the district attorney handles the more severe crimes.
According to police, Chappelle was performing at the Hollywood Bowl when Lee charged the comedian and threw him to the ground.
The attacker was overpowered while attempting to escape.
A photo released by police showed him carrying a mock pistol with a long folding blade similar to that of a pocket knife.
Chappelle returned to the stage after a brief hiatus and continued his show, including impromptu jokes about the incident.
He didn't look hurt.
It was the last of four performances in the »Netflix Is a Joke« festival series, which took place in the famous open-air theatre.
Representatives for the entertainer said Wednesday he is assisting police in their investigation.
"As unpleasant and disturbing as the incident was, Chappelle went on with his show," his rep Carla Sims said in a statement, thanking fellow comedians Chris Rock and Jamie Foxx for helping calm the audience.
The attack sparked memories of the strange incident at the Oscars in March, in which actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage over a gag about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Chappelle was joking about how comedians should be more concerned about their personal safety when he was attacked.
Chris Rock had stood at the edge of the stage for Chappelle's performance.
Shortly after Chappelle was attacked, Rock approached him on stage and asked into the microphone, "Was that Will Smith?"
feb/AP/Reuters
