The former NFL receiver faces a case that could leave him up to 30 years in prison
Former NFL star Antonio Brown filed a motion this week to dismiss the attempted second-degree murder charge against him in Miami, based on Florida’s self-defense law. The motion was filed Monday, but his attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, shared it with ESPN on Saturday.
The incident involved gunshots outside an amateur boxing match. Brown, 37, spent nearly six months in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he traveled after the incident, before being extradited by US Marshals. Shortly after arriving in Miami last month, he pleaded not guilty and appeared in court.
“Brown’s use of force on May 16, 2025 was fully justified,” the motion said. “Brown reasonably believed that the alleged victim intended to cause him serious harm.”
Richard L. Cooper, attorney for Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, called the defense motion an “absurd reinterpretation” of what happened.
The motion cited Florida’s 2005 law, which eliminated the “duty to retreat” before using “deadly force in certain circumstances” and grants immunity from prosecution. Brown faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Florida’s most famous case involving self-defense law originated with the 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman, the shooter, claimed self-defense at 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 principles of fighting the recall of Florida’s law.
Brown’s motion described a history of violence by Nantambu toward him, including an alleged jewelry theft in Dubai. Nantambu spent 30 days in jail in Dubai in connection with that incident, according to the motion.
In the May incident, according to the motion, Brown was trying to get to his car to get to safety after Nantambu attacked him. However, police claimed that Brown punched Nantambu in the face and then, along with two other people, continued the attack.
Nantambu drove away, according to the police description of security footage. Brown then “chases him and shoots him at point-blank range,” according to a prosecutor. Police added that a video posted on social media showed Brown with a gun in his hand near Nantambu. Two shots were heard. Nantambu ducked after the first shot was heard, according to police.
Monday’s motion, which recognized Brown as the shooter, indicated that Brown “reasonably feared” Nantambu was armed. He also indicated that Nantambu made an “aggressive move” toward Brown.
“At that point, Brown once again reasonably feared death or serious bodily injury,” the motion read. Brown then fired two “warning shots, intentionally pointing away from Nantambu to ensure he was not hit,” the motion stated. Brown also claimed that Nantambu grabbed the gun after a struggle and took it away.
At a hearing in November, Cooper claimed that Brown’s intention was to kill Nantambu. “Thank God they didn’t kill him,” Cooper said. Cooper said he believed Brown went to Dubai thinking he could not be extradited and was flaunting his presence there on social media.
Upon his return to Miami, Brown was released on $25,000 bail and placed under house arrest with a GPS ankle monitor.
Antronio Brown, played 12 years in the NFL, was an All-Pro wide receiver who last played in 2021 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but spent most of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
