Criss Angel left stage and choked fan, attorney claims
Illusionist Criss Angel helped escort a fan from the theater of a Strip hotel before the man was arrested on suspicion of battery, but the man’s lawyer claims Angel himself left the stage and “choked” his client.
Angel was performing his “Mindfreak” show at the Planet Hollywood on Dec. 29 when Brandon McDonald, 31, of Ontario, Canada, jumped over seats in the Criss Angel Theater and allegedly assaulted a security officer with his fist, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report.
The officer, who practices martial arts, used physical force techniques to subdue McDonald, took him to the ground and then Angel and the officer walked the man out into the lobby, according to the police report.
“McDonald is seen hugging Criss and then Criss begin(s) to walk away back into the theater,” the report states.
“McDonald then aggressively claps his hands together and suddenly jerks his body forward, leading with his shoulders as if attempting to intimidate Criss Angel,” according to the report.
The security officer then picked McDonald up, carried him out of the lobby and performed a citizen’s arrest, police said in the report.
Officers told police the dispute ensued after they saw McDonald using his cellphone inside the magician’s theater, which is against its rules, and instructed him to stop.
However, in an interview with the Review-Journal, McDonald’s attorney Adam Solinger told a story with different details — none of which are mentioned in the arrest report. The Las Vegas lawyer told the Review-Journal that after the magic show ended, Angel exited the stage and intervened.
Solinger said that Angel allegedly told McDonald, “I’m going to choke you” and then Angel came up from behind and “wraps his arm around his neck and starts choking him.”
“I have no idea why he would get involved like that,” said Solinger, adding that he and his client were “looking at all our options, criminal and civil at this point.”
Solinger alleges that after being “choked” from behind, McDonald suffered a sore throat and his head was hurt from “being slammed down by security.”
Police in the report cited the theater’s surveillance video of the event, while Solinger said that McDonald’s girlfriend took a video of Angel allegedly choking McDonald.
According to Solinger, McDonald attended the magic show with his girlfriend and a couple of other friends and was texting his ailing mother when security approached him thinking he was recording the performance.
McDonald, seeking to show security that he did not take a video of the show, stepped over into the next empty row of seats in the theater with his mobile phone, Solinger said.
“He vehemently denied he punched anyone,” the lawyer said.
A spokesperson for Caesars Entertainment, which represents Planet Hollywood, and Base Entertainment, which manages Angel as a performer, could not be reached for comment.
McDonald was arrested and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on a count of misdemeanor battery, police said.
A hearing is set for March 5 in Justice Court, court records show.
Contact Jeff Burbank at jburbank@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0382. Follow him @JeffBurbank2 on X.