Former NFL star in attempted murder case

December 16, 2025 Aksel Kryhlmand

Motion to dismiss under Stand Your Ground

Antonio Brown has pleaded not guilty to a second degree attempted murder charge and is now seeking dismissal of the case under Florida’s Stand Your Ground statute.

According to ESPN, Brown’s legal team filed the motion, with attorney Mark Eiglarsh publicly confirming the filing. The motion argues that Brown’s use of force during the May 16 incident was legally justified and that he reasonably feared serious bodily harm.

Court records show Brown was arraigned after being transferred back to Miami last month following extradition by U.S. marshals. He had spent nearly six months in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, before returning to the United States. He was later released on 25,000 dollars bail and placed on house arrest with a GPS ankle monitor.

“Brown’s use of force on May 16, 2025, was fully justified,” the filing states. “Brown reasonably believed that the alleged victim intended to cause him serious harm.”

Gunfire outside celebrity boxing event

The charge stems from an altercation outside an amateur boxing card hosted by online streamer Adin Ross on May 16.

According to police statements cited in court filings, Brown became involved in a confrontation with Zul Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, a former friend. Investigators allege Brown took a handgun from a security guard and fired two shots during the dispute.

Authorities said one bullet grazed Nantambu’s neck, though he did not suffer life threatening injuries. Brown was not arrested at the scene because officers had not yet identified Nantambu as the victim, police said.

Competing versions of the incident

In the defense motion, Brown claims he was attempting to reach his vehicle when Nantambu attacked him. The filing asserts Brown feared Nantambu was armed and fired two warning shots while intentionally aiming away to avoid causing injury.

Prosecutors dispute that account. According to prosecutors, security footage shows Nantambu walking away before Brown pursued him and fired. Police have also said social media video appears to show Brown holding a gun moments before the shots were fired.

Nantambu’s attorney, Richard L. Cooper, strongly criticized the defense filing. Speaking at a November court hearing, Cooper said, “By the grace of God, he was not killed,” calling the motion a distorted version of events.

Legal stakes and troubled backdrop

The defense motion cites Florida’s 2005 Stand Your Ground law, which removes the duty to retreat before using deadly force and can grant immunity from prosecution if self defense claims are upheld. The statute gained national attention following the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin.

Brown’s filing also alleges a history of violence by Nantambu, including a jewelry theft incident in Dubai that allegedly resulted in Nantambu spending 30 days in jail, according to defense claims.

If the court rejects the motion and Brown is convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison under Florida law.

Once one of the NFL’s most dominant wide receivers with Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay, Brown’s playing career ended in 2021. Since then, a series of legal disputes and public controversies have continued to follow him into this latest courtroom battle.

Sources: ESPN, court filings, police statements