Antonio Brown’s lawyer filed a not guilty plea on his behalf on Tuesday as the former NFL wide receiver returned to Miami to face an attempted murder charge resulting from a shooting in May, according to court records.
Brown was apprehended by U.S. Marshals on Thursday in Dubai, ending a months-long search. He was extradited to the U.S. and initially held in Essex County, N.J.
Inmate records show authorities moved Brown from Essex County to Florida just after 11 a.m. ET Tuesday. He was booked into a correctional center in Miami-Dade County about six hours later.
Brown’s attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, electronically entered a plea of not guilty on his client’s behalf, Miami-Dade County circuit court records show. He also requested a trial by jury and for the state attorney’s office to provide “all discovery and evidence” in the case.
If Brown is convicted on the second-degree attempted murder charge, Florida law carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
A bond hearing is set for Wednesday morning, and an arraignment is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 17. In a statement Tuesday night, Brown’s attorney Eiglarsh said his client had acted in self-defense.
“Brown was attacked that night and acted within his legal right to protect himself from an individual who previously committed criminal acts against him,” he said. “It’s a privilege to represent him, and I am determined to ensure that justice is served.”
#FREEAB — @MarkEiglarsh pic.twitter.com/TX04I4t42A
— AB (@AB84) November 11, 2025
The case stems from an incident at a celebrity boxing event on May 17. Video from after the event appeared to show Brown in an altercation with several people outside the Miami venue. After he was separated from the fray, the video appeared to show Brown holding a black pistol as he pursued one of the men involved. An arrest warrant accused Brown of grabbing the gun from a security guard and firing it.
Police questioned several people at the scene and briefly detained Brown, but no arrests were made and no injuries were reported at the time, according to The Associated Press. Later that night, Brown wrote in a social media post that he was jumped “by multiple individuals who tried to steal my jewelry and cause physical harm to me.”
He also said he had not been arrested. That was accurate at the time, but Miami police issued an arrest warrant for Brown shortly thereafter. The former NFL star went on to accuse the man he appeared to go after of repeatedly harassing him.
Brown, 37, eluded authorities for more than four months. During that time, he frequently posted on social media, including several Instagram posts that showed him in a luxury sports car, sitting at a barbershop and lounging by a pool.
“He was taunting us on social media,” Miami police spokesperson Michael Vega told The Athletic last week. “We identified he was in Dubai, we let the Marshals know.”
It’s just the latest legal trouble for the seven-time Pro Bowl receiver, who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brown played one game for the Patriots in 2019 following a lawsuit by a former trainer who accused him of rape and multiple sexual assaults over the prior two years. New England released him, and the NFL suspended him for the first eight games of the 2020 season. Brown denied the allegations.
The Allegheny County district attorney, whose jurisdiction includes Pittsburgh, chose not to pursue a criminal case because the statute of limitations had expired. The sides later settled a civil case on undisclosed terms.
In June 2020, Brown pleaded no contest to burglary and battery charges stemming from a January incident with a moving company. He was ordered to serve two years of probation and 100 hours of community service. Brown was also instructed to attend an anger management program and undergo a psychological/psychiatric evaluation.
He was arrested multiple times in 2023 on warrants accusing him of failing to pay child support, and in May 2024, he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with records showing he owed $3 million to eight creditors.