Alec Baldwin Arraigned Following Attempted Assault And Harassment Charges After Allegedly Punching Stranger
Actor Alec Baldwin was arraigned in a New York courtroom on Monday just a few weeks following his arrest for alleged assault, reported E! News.
On November 2, Baldwin was arrested after allegedly punching a man over a parking space. The New York Police Department reported that the altercation occurred after a driver pulled into a parking spot in Manhattan that a relative of Baldwin’s was holding for him. The driver and Baldwin began verbally fighting, which then escalated to pushing and punching.
The 49-year-old driver was taken to the hospital following the altercation and reported experiencing jaw pain and redness around his neck.
Baldwin was held at the 6th precinct before being charged with assault and harassment, deemed misdemeanor and violation-level charges, and given a desk appearance ticket. Following the arrest, the actor took to Twitter to defend himself over the incident.
“Normally, I would not comment on something as egregiously misstated as today’s story. However, the assertion that I punched anyone over a parking spot is false. I wanted to go on the record stating as much. I realize that it has become a sport to tag people [with] as many negative charges and defaming allegations as possible for the purposes of clickbait entertainment. Fortunately, no matter how reverberating the echoes, it doesn’t make the statements true.”
Alec Baldwin Shows Up for Arraignment in Alleged Parking Space Assault #AlecBaldwin https://t.co/qaSuiMktk5 pic.twitter.com/Xmq0seVkDh
— Tracy C (@TheTraceC) November 26, 2018
During the arraignment, Baldwin’s attorney stated that the video footage from the alleged assault proved that the actor didn’t do anything wrong. Baldwin was released after pleading not guilty during the brief hearing and is set to return to court in late January.
The It’s Complicated star has had quite a few run-ins with the law due to his hot-headedness. In 2014, he was arrested for becoming “belligerent” with a police officer who pulled him over on his bicycle to inform him that he was riding in the wrong direction, reported Fox News. The actor “refused to [identify] himself, became belligerent, cursing and yelling. He was then placed in handcuffs.”
He has also been involved in less serious public displays, such as being removed from a flight after refusing to stop playing Words With Friends and turning his phone off in 2011 and getting in a verbal altercation with a photographer in 2012. In 2013, a different photographer filed a harassment claim against the actor.
Baldwin continues to defend the accusations and alleged behaviors, often blaming law enforcement or other people for the incidents he finds himself in.
“New York City is a mismanaged carnival of stupidity that is desperate for revenue and anxious to criminalize behavior once thought benign,” he tweeted after being arrested following the bicycle incident.
Lately, the actor has also been making headlines for his attacks on President Donald Trump and parodies on the hit television show Saturday Night Live.
