Shia LaBeouf pleads guilty over Mardi Gras incident

Actor Shia LaBeouf has pleaded guilty to three counts of simple battery and been sentenced to probation after punching people outside a New Orleans bar during Mardi Gras.

LaBeouf will also be required to attend an alcohol treatment programme under the sentence handed down by an Orleans Parish judge, according to Sarah Chervinsky, a lawyer for the actor.

LaBeouf, known for his roles in Transformers and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, had been released on bail following his arrest near the city's historic French Quarter.

Video of the 17 February encounter shows a shirtless LaBeouf outside a bar shoving one person to the ground and hitting another person in the face, "causing his nose to possibly dislocate", according to a New Orleans police report.

Judge Juana Marine-Lombard handed the actor a six-month suspended sentence and two years of probation. LaBeouf was also ordered to stay away from the three victims and the bar.

"Mr LaBeouf came to court today wanting to take accountability for his part in what happened, and he has done so," Ms Chervinsky said.

"Now he’s looking forward to focusing on family, work, and new creative projects."

Ms Chervinsky described the incident as a "minor Mardi Gras bar tussle" and said there was "no evidence it was about bias or prejudice".

Jeffrey Damnit, a well-known local entertainer who police identified as Jeffrey Klein in the incident report, said he was one of the people attacked by LaBeouf.

"He hit me, he connected a few times with punches, he pushed me a few times," Mr Damnit told the Associated Press earlier this year.

Mr Damnit said LaBeouf "just got nuts" while trying to start fights and telling the entertainer and others that he would beat them up.

He also alleged that LaBeouf had pushed him from behind at the bar earlier in the night, shouted homophobic slurs and threatened his life.

Mr Damnit and others subdued LaBeouf and tried to get him to leave the area, but he would not leave and became more aggressive, according to Mr Damnit and the police report.

After LaBeouf was charged in February, a judge ordered him to return to drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

LaBeouf has had several run-ins with the law during his career, including a 2017 New York City arrest on suspicion of assault during a livestream.

While on location in Georgia filming The Peanut Butter Falcon later that year, he was arrested for public drunkenness and accused of disorderly conduct and obstruction. He was later sentenced to probation.

In 2020, he was charged with misdemeanour battery and petty theft in Los Angeles.

That year, English singer and actor FKA twigs, whose legal name is Tahliah Barnett, filed a lawsuit alleging LaBeouf was physically and emotionally abusive to her during their relationship. The case was settled in July 2025.

The actor first gained acclaim as a child for his role on the Disney Channel series Even Stevens.

Source: AP