Former NFL star Antonio Brown filed a motion this week to dismiss a charge of attempted second-degree murder against him in Miami under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law. The motion was filed Monday, but his attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, released it to ESPN on Saturday.
The incident involved gunfire outside an amateur boxing match. Brown, 37, spent nearly six months in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he went after the incident, before being extradited by U.S. marshals. Shortly after arriving in Miami last month, he pleaded not guilty and was arraigned.
“Brown’s use of force on May 16, 2025, was fully justified,” the motion states. “Brown had reason to believe that the alleged victim intended to cause him serious harm. »
Richard L. Cooper, attorney for Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, called the defense motion a “grotesque reinterpretation” of the facts.
The motion cites Florida’s 2005 law that removed the “requirement to retreat” before using “deadly force in certain circumstances” and provides immunity from prosecution. Brown faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Florida’s most famous Stand Your Ground case originated in the 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman, the shooter, claimed self-defense during his second-degree murder trial, resulting in his acquittal in 2013. Zimmerman did not directly invoke the law, but the judge’s instructions to the jury emphasized the fight-or-retreat principles under Florida law.
Brown’s motion described Nantambu’s history of violence against her, including an alleged jewelry theft in Dubai. Nantambu spent 30 days in jail in Dubai over the incident, according to the petition.
In the May incident, according to the motion, Brown was trying to get to his car to safety after Nantambu assaulted him. But police said Brown punched Nantambu in the face and then, along with two others, continued to assault her.
Nantambu walked away, according to the police’s description of the CCTV footage. Brown then “pursued him and shot him at point-blank range,” according to a prosecutor. Police added that video posted on social media showed Brown with a gun in his hand near Nantambu. Two shots followed. Nantambu ducked down after hearing the first shot, police said.
Monday’s motion, which recognizes Brown as the shooter, says he “reasonably feared” that Nantambu was armed. It also says Nantambu made an “aggressive move” toward Brown.
“At that point, Brown again reasonably feared for his life or serious harm,” the motion states. Brown then fired two “warning shots, intentionally aiming away from Nantambu to ensure he would not be hit,” the motion states. Brown also said Nantambu took the gun after a struggle and left with it.
At a hearing in November, Cooper testified that Brown intended to kill Nantambu. “By the grace of God, he wasn’t killed,” Cooper said.
Cooper said he believed Brown had traveled to Dubai thinking he could not be extradited and was openly displaying
After returning to Miami, Brown was released on $25,000 bail and confined to his home with a GPS monitor on his ankle.
