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No charges: Mike Tyson will not be charged after punching airplane passenger

By Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
By Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson will not face charges after he was caught on video punching a man who had been harassing him during a flight.

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The San Mateo County district attorney’s Office said the potential case against Tyson was closed, The Associated Press reported.

They said the decision was made based on “the circumstances surrounding the confrontation.”

“These include the conduct of the victim leading up to the incident, the interaction between Mr. Tyson and the victim, as well as the requests of both the victim and Mr. Tyson that no charges be filed in this case,” District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said, according to ESPN.

>>Previous coverage: Mike Tyson punches man allegedly bothering him on flight, according to video

Originally, the man who was punched did not give many details to the police and had refused to cooperate with the investigation, the AP reported.

But eventually the man, identified as Melvin Townsend, told authorities he did not want to press charges, KTVU reported.

Tyson’s representatives said the boxer was on the flight with “an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat,” the AP reported.

A video showed Townsend standing over Tyson’s seat and waving his arms above the fighter who remained quiet and seated.

A separate video recorded by another passenger showed Tyson hitting him repeatedly in the head, drawing blood.

The altercation happened on a JetBlue flight from San Francisco to Florida. Tyson, who retired from boxing and is now a cannabis entrepreneur, was in San Francisco in April for the city’s cannabis festival to promote his marijuana brand, the AP reported.

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Through the years Los Angeles, CA - 1984: Mike Tyson at Summer Olympics boxing trials, Memorial Sports Arena. (Photo by Ken Regan /Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images) (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Con)

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