The 39-year-old actor was ejected from a New Orleans business and arrested for punching three men.

Shia LaBeouf pleads guilty to simple battery, receives 2 years of probation over Mardi Gras brawl

The 39-year-old actor was ejected from a New Orleans business and arrested for punching three men.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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June 3, 2026 3:29 p.m. ET

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Shia LaBeouf in 2024. Credit:

Mike Marsland/WireImage

- Shia LaBeouf pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor battery charges related to his Feb. 17 arrest.

- The *Holes* star was hit with two years' probation and a six-month suspended sentence.

- The actor was arrested earlier this year after being ejected from a New Orleans bar and getting into an altercation during Mardi Gras celebrations.

Shia LaBeouf's legal battle over his Mardi Gras bar brawl has reached its end.

On Wednesday, the 39-year-old *Holes* actor pleaded guilty to three counts of simple battery in connection with his Feb. 17 arrest for punching people at a Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans.

After hearing his plea in the courthouse, Magistrate Judge Juana Lombard handed the actor a six-month suspended sentence with two years' probation along with orders to attend rehabilitation for alcohol abuse, sensitivity training, and anger management classes, per *The Guardian*.

LaBeouf's attorney, Sarah Chervinsky, addressed the sentencing in a statement provided to **. "The police and District Attorney's investigation proved exactly what Shia LaBeouf said from the beginning -- that this was nothing more than a minor Mardi Gras bar tussle," Chervinsky said. "There is no evidence it was about bias or prejudice, which is why the state only charged these low level misdemeanors."

Shia LaBeouf in 2025.

Dave Benett/WireImage

She continued, "Mr. LaBeouf came to court today wanting to take accountability for his part in what happened, and he has done so. Now he's looking forward to focusing on family, work, and new creative projects.

The morning of the incident, authorities told EW that officers were called to the scene after LaBeouf was ejected from the Royal Street Inn & R Bar for alleged aggressive behavior that was causing a disturbance. Per the police, one of the two men involved in the incident reported to authorities that once they were outside, LaBeouf struck them several times with his closed fists. The other claimed that the actor punched him in the nose.

In their statement to EW, police said several onlookers stepped in to hold LaBeouf down until officers arrived on the scene, at which point the actor was transported to a hospital and subsequently arrested after being discharged.

Days later, LaBeouf spoke to Channel 5's Andrew Callaghan about the incident, insisting that despite his history with alcohol-related arrests, rehab would not be necessary.

"My behavior… I gotta deal with that. Does that mean I gotta go to rehab again? I'm just not into it, bro," the *Transformers* actor said in the interview. "I don't think my answers are there. I don't. I really, genuinely, don't. If I genuinely did, I'd go. I don't think I have a drinking problem."

Shia LaBeouf's mugshot.

Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office

He then claimed that the altercation broke out after the men touched his leg.

"I'll be honest with you: Big gay people are scary to me," he said. "When I'm, like, standing by myself and three gay dudes are next to me, touching my leg, I get scared. I'm sorry. If that's homophobic, then I'm that."

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The *Honey Boy* actor did acknowledge, however, that he should not have gotten physical. "I am wrong for touching anyone ever," he said, "and that's the end of my statement on this whole s---."

On the heels of LaBeouf's arrest, local performer Jeffrey Damnit told the Associated Press that he was one of the men involved in the altercation, claiming that LaBeouf had shouted homophobic slurs and threatened his life. Speaking to other outlets, he expressed his hope that the actor would face hate crime charges.

One day prior to the Mardi Gras incident, a *Hollywood Reporter *story* *detailed LaBeouf frequenting various drinking establishments in the city's Uptown neighborhood. The actor, who has discussed embracing sobriety in recent years, was engaged in an apparent bar crawl, with a bouncer at one bar claiming that LaBeouf was "inebriated" and "somewhat belligerent" when he visited. Other employees reported that they had witnessed no incidents or disruptions while he was present in their bar.

LaBeouf was previously court-ordered to attend rehab following a 2017 arrest in Georgia on charges of public intoxication and disorderly conduct. Before that, he was arrested in October 2015 on charges of public intoxication and in 2014 on charges of disorderly conduct after interrupting a performance of *Cabaret.*

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