McGregor charged with assault, mischief
UFC fighter set off melee in Brooklyn
BROOKLYN, N.Y. Conor McGregor arrived in the courthouse in handcuffs and left with both his passport and the right to fly home to Ireland.
In between, he had to agree to post US$50,000 bail after spending Thursday night and most of Friday in police custody and he’ll need to be back in court June 14.
The UFC star was charged with three counts of misdemeanour assault and one count of criminal mischief after he stormed into Brooklyn’s Barclays Center Thursday and attacked a bus full of fighters who were set to compete at UFC 223 today.
Multiple videos posted by fighters show McGregor and a group of around 20 men surrounding the bus and throwing objects at it.
On Friday, McGregor was also accused of punching a member of the security team, Jason Ledbetter, at the Barclays Center.
“Defendant McGregor also throws a punch at someone who was on security detail,” said prosecutor Wilfredo Cotto. “He throws a punch, striking that individual. That individual also sustained injuries, pain, swelling and bruising. He was treated at Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.”
The Irishman remained expressionless throughout his five-minute arraignment. His bail was set at $50,000, but his passport will not be seized and he will be allowed to fly back to his native Ireland.
In the videos posted online, McGregor was seen throwing a dolly through one of the bus’ windows, injuring lightweight Michael Chiesa and flyweight Ray Borg and causing the UFC to pull both of their fights from today’s card.
McGregor’s teammate, Artem Lobov, also had his fight against Alex Caceres cancelled because of his involvement. Multiple reports confirmed McGregor and his crew were trying to get at UFC lightweight star Khabib Nurmagomedov as retaliation for an incident between the Russian’s team and Lobov earlier in the week at a hotel in Brooklyn.
In addition to the four charges filed against McGregor, Judge Consuelo Mallafre-Melendez also issued an order of protection in favour of Chiesa, Borg, Ledbetter, Ozzy Arias, and Ricardo Chico against McGregor. The Irishman was strictly ordered not to have any contact with them, or he would be arrested again.