Actor Shia LaBeouf pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of simple battery for punching people outside a New Orleans bar during Mardi Gras in February. Video from Feb. 17 shows him shoving one person to the ground and hitting another in the face, with a pol
NEW ORLEANS — The plea came on a Wednesday that followed a Feb. 17 night outside a New Orleans bar during Mardi Gras, captured on video in a sequence that still sits uncomfortably close to the surface.
Actor Shia LaBeouf pleaded guilty to three counts of simple battery in the case tied to the incident. according to the court proceedings. Sentencing details were not immediately available in online court records. An attorney and a manager for LaBeouf did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The underlying facts are stark. Video of the Feb. 17 encounter shows LaBeouf shoving one person to the ground and hitting another person in the face. A New Orleans police report described the impact as “causing his nose to possibly dislocate.”
One of the people who said he was attacked described how it unfolded. Jeffrey Damnit, a well-known local entertainer whom police identified as Jeffrey Klein in the incident report, said he was among those LaBeouf punched.
“He hit me, he connected a few times with punches, he pushed me a few times,” Damnit told The Associated Press earlier this year.
Damnit also said LaBeouf “just got nuts” while trying to start fights, and said LaBeouf told him and others he would beat them up. He said LaBeouf had pushed him from behind at the bar earlier in the night, then began shouting homophobic slurs and threatening his life.
Damnit said he and others subdued LaBeouf and tried to get him to leave the area, but that LaBeouf would not leave and became more aggressive, consistent with the police report.
The guilty plea closes one chapter of a case that has not been the actor’s first brush with the law. LaBeouf has had several run-ins during his career, including a 2017 New York City arrest on suspicion of assault that happened during a livestream.
For now, what comes next is basic but important: sentencing. For victims and for the public who watched the video and heard descriptions afterward, the timing of consequences is what will feel most immediate.
Shia LaBeouf simple battery New Orleans Mardi Gras plea guilty police report Jeffrey Damnit Jeffrey Klein sentencing
Mardi Gras + that dude = surprise, not really.
Simple battery sounds kinda light for punching people?? Like “simple” doesn’t sound that simple when someone’s face is involved. Also why does it say no sentencing details in records yet, are they just gonna delay it forever?
Wait they’re calling him “Jeffrey Damnit” and “Jeffrey Klein” like those are two different people?? I’m confused. Either way, homophobic slurs and then he pleads guilty?? That’s still wild to me. I just hope the sentencing happens fast.
He’s had run-ins before right, like that NYC livestream thing. I feel like this whole court stuff is a joke though because he’ll probably get probation and be back in movies. Plus the article says nose possibly dislocate… so was he drunk or just acting like that for fun? Everybody was saying he was crazy already so I’m not even surprised, just tired of it.