Jonathan Majors Domestic Violence Trial Begins with Focus on Sealed Evidence

Marvel actor Jonathan Majors appeared in New York Criminal Court Wednesday for the start of his trial on misdemeanor assault and harassment charges.

The charges stem from an alleged domestic violence incident on March 25. Police responded to a 911 call from a 30-year-old woman who alleged being assaulted by Majors, with police noting that she had sustained minor injuries. 

She was treated at the hospital and Majors was released from police custody later that day.

He faces charges of misdemeanor assault, aggravated harassment, and harassment. The potential sentence is up to a year in jail. 

His attorney, Priya Chaudhry, again entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf Wednesday to all charges.

The actor walked into the Manhattan courtroom holding hands with his girlfriend, Meagan Good, wearing a gray suit and carrying several items, including a brown mug and a Bible.

The majority of the morning was spent considering a motion filed by members of the media arguing against the defense’s motion, which was filed under seal, to keep those papers under seal and to keep the courtroom closed during arguments on the admissibility of that evidence. 

Majors' attorneys argued that the “release of information at issue would have a highly prejudicial impact on the jury.”

While noting that she herself did not know what information is under seal, Kate Bolger, an attorney representing members of the media, argued that it’s within public interest for the materials to be released and that Majors’ team has already made several statements ahead of Wednesday, inviting pre-trial publicity. 

She also pointed to a Rolling Stone article published Tuesday that said the information withheld contained testimonies from ex-girlfriends of Majors alleging physical or emotional abuse.

Judge Michael Gaffey moved to seal the hearing and the documents on this issue, saying it was “the only way to prevent tainting the jury pool.” If it is found to be admissible evidence for trial, the information will become public.

According to documents from the district attorney’s office, the alleged March 25 incident began when Majors and the woman, who has since been publicly identified as Grace Jabbari, were in the car driving to their home in Manhattan on March 25 when she observed a text message on Majors’ phone stating, “Wish I was kissing you right now.” 

Jabbari allegedly grabbed the phone and Majors allegedly began grabbing the right side of her body, prying her finger from the phone. 

The complaint says he then grabbed her arm and right hand and twisted her forearm and then struck her right ear. When she tried to leave the car, he allegedly picked her up and threw her back inside.

Majors later filed a cross-complaint against Jabbari. The complaint alleged that she attacked him that night, and police issued an investigatory card, or I-Card, which is an internal NYPD document alerting officers that there is probable cause for an arrest, for Jabbari in late June. 

She surrendered herself for arrest in late October, despite prosecutors saying they had no plans to press charges, and the matter has since been closed and sealed.

Chaudry had filed a motion to dismiss the case outright, but New York Judge Michael Gaffey denied the motion in an Oct. 25 hearing, paving the way for the trial.

The arrest has derailed the biggest year of Majors’ career, which has included starring roles in February’s "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania", March’s "Creed III" and season two of "Loki", which ended earlier this month, in which he played a version of the villain Kang the Conqueror. 

Majors remains attached to star in Marvel’s upcoming "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty". However, it has been undergoing a creative overhaul following the exit of director Destin Daniel Cretton earlier this month.

In the wake of his arrest both his publicity firm, the Lede Company, and managers at Management 360 dropped him.

At the same time, in recent months the Disney-owned Searchlight Features removed Magazine Dreams from its release calendar. The movie debuted at Sundance in January and was expected to be an awards season vehicle for Majors.