Lawyer for alleged Oscar thief plans ‘forceful’ and ‘aggressive’ defense

LOS ANGELES — A lawyer for the man charged with stealing Frances McDormand’s Academy Award said yesterday that he and his client plan to “forcefully and aggressively resist” the allegations against him.

Attorney Daniel Brookman acknowledged that suspect Terry Bryant can be seen on an Associated Press video holding McDormand’s best actress statuette but those images don’t rise to the seriousness of felony grand theft.

“There’s a big difference between holding an Oscar and what he’s charged with,” Brookman said outside court, where Bryant was arraigned and pleaded not guilty. “I don’t think his character matches these charges.”

Los Angeles Superior Court Deborah Brazil ruled Bryant, 47, didn’t pose a risk to the public and released him on his own recognizance.

Bryant walked out of the Governors Ball Oscars after-party with the trophy on Sunday night, authorities said. He was captured on the AP video holding it proudly over his head and saying, “All right baby boys and baby girls.”

He quickly gave it up when confronted by a photographer, police said.

McDormand won the Oscar, her second, for her performance in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

Bryant could get three years in jail if convicted.

AP footage from earlier Sunday shows Bryant walked into the Governors Ball alongside McDormand, although there is no indication they knew each other.

Naomi Levy, a rabbi who came to court to support Bryant, described him as “a sweet and gentle man of faith.”