Jonathan Majors will face trial on domestic violence charges after a New York judge denied a request to dismiss the case. The trial date has been set for November 29.
Majors appeared Wednesday morning in a Manhattan courtroom via Zoom because he is out of state. During the hearing, his defense attorneys filed a motion asking that the “disputed evidence” be kept under seal and banned from public view due to the “high-profile” nature of the case and the allegations against Majors. Defense attorney Seth Zuckerman told Judge Michael Jaffe that he believed “disclosing sensitive information would limit Mr. Majors’ right to a fair trial.” The judge has not yet ruled on the request and told reporters in the room that they could file opposing papers by November 6.
The Marvel actor was arrested in Manhattan on March 25 and charged with aggravated assault and harassment following an alleged domestic dispute with his then-girlfriend Grace Jabbari. Majors pleaded not guilty to the four charges against him. If convicted of misdemeanor harassment and assault charges, he faces up to one year in prison.
Before Wednesday’s hearing, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office filed a 115-page response to the actor’s motion to dismiss the case. The document alleges that Majors’ legal team leaked and distorted court evidence, as well as attempting to get police to create a wanted poster with Jabari’s image.
At the time of the arrest, Jabbari told officers she had been assaulted and taken to hospital with “minor injuries to her head and neck” after an alleged altercation in a taxi. Majors’ defense lawyers claimed that it was Al-Jabbari who assaulted Majors, “and not the other way around.” His team also suggested that “racial bias” played a role in the investigation, calling the case a “witch hunt” against the Emmy-nominated actor.
Majors’ criminal defense attorney, Priya Chowdhury, claimed to have evidence exonerating Majors of any wrongdoing, including surveillance video that showed Al-Jabbari “completely unharmed” after the alleged assault on the defendant. But the prosecution’s latest filing countered that assertion, saying that “the surveillance video referred to by the defense in fact shows Ms. Al-Jabbari visibly upset, crying, and asking strangers for help to get an Uber taxi home.”
In April, Al-Jabbari obtained a temporary protection order, meaning the two parties cannot have any direct contact or with a third party. The order remains in place.
As his trial date approached, more alleged victims of Majors came forward and cooperated with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
In the wake of the allegations, Majors was dropped from feature film projects and dropped by his public relations team at Lede, as well as his management, Entertainment 360. WME continues to represent the Emmy-nominated actor. He stars in the upcoming drama “Magazine Dreams,” which is still scheduled to premiere in December. He also has a major role, as Kang the Conqueror, in the current phase of Disney’s sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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