Authorities said the comedian had just finished performing when a man jumped on the stage and attacked him.
The man alleged to have attacked Dave Chappelle on Tuesday night at the Hollywood Bowl during the Netflix Is A Joke Festival is facing new charges.
On Thursday, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced his office has filed charges against Isaiah Lee, who police have named the suspect in the attack on Chappelle. "This alleged attack has got to have consequences," Feuer said. He noted that the misdemeanor charges filed include battery, possession of a weapon with the intent to assault and "charges related to interfering with a performance." According to multiple reports, Lee has pled not guilty.
"My office takes protecting public safety extremely seriously," Feuer said, "and we are going to vigorously prosecute this case."
The new charges come after the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced that "the evidence as presented did not constitute felony conduct" and that the case was being referred to the City Attorney's Office.
"The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has referred the case to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office for misdemeanor filing consideration," the L.A. County's District Attorney's Office said in a statement. "After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors determined that while criminal conduct occurred, the evidence as presented did not constitute felony conduct. The District Attorney’s Office does not prosecute misdemeanor crimes within the city of Los Angeles."
On Tuesday, police told ET that they detained a 23-year-old Black man named Isaiah Lee, and he was booked on $30,000 bail. Lee was initially charged with assault with a deadly weapon, but that charge no longer applies.
As for what led to Lee's arrest, authorities told ET that Chappelle had just finished performing on Tuesday night when a man jumped on the stage and attacked the 48-year-old comedian.
The attacker was later seen in one video outside the venue on a stretcher with a bent elbow, and was reportedly taken to the hospital for "superficial injuries." Police say that nobody else appeared to be injured, and Chappelle did continue the show following the scary incident.
"Chapelle was hit in the ribs," a source told ET. "It all happened so quickly, and he was in shock, but handled it like a pro. He was running on adrenaline."
The source noted that there are major concerns among the performers about how this could have happened, and it was shocking to learn that the attacker made it into the venue with the weapon and was also able to make it on the stage and have unobstructed access to Chappelle.
A Netflix spokesperson told ET in a statement, "We care deeply about the safety of creators and we strongly defend the right of stand-up comedians to perform on stage without fear of violence."
Meanwhile, ET has learned that Netflix is actively discussing the security protocols for future events, as security for the Netflix is a Joke Festival is currently handled by the venues.
In part of a statement, Chappelle's rep said that the comedian "celebrated four nights of comedy and music, setting record-breaking sales for a comedian at the Hollywood Bowl. This run ties Chappelle with Monty Python for the most headlined shows by any comedian at the Hollywood Bowl, reaching 70k fans of diverse backgrounds during the first Netflix Is A Joke: The Festival, and he refuses to allow last night’s incident to overshadow the magic of this historic moment."
According to his rep, Chappelle is "fully cooperating with the active police investigation into this incident."
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