UFC star Conor McGregor freed on bail over assault charges after being taken to court in handcuffs
The UFC star is charged with three counts of assault and one of criminal mischief after he allegedly threw a railing at a bus.
Saturday 7 April 2018 03:42, UK
UFC fighter Conor McGregor has been released on bail after appearing in a New York court charged with three counts of assault over an alleged bus attack.
The mixed martial arts (MMA) star, who is also accused of one count of criminal mischief, was escorted by officers to an arraignment hearing at Kings County criminal court in Brooklyn.
Wearing jeans and a long-sleeved blue shirt, he did not show any emotion as he was taken to a waiting car after being led out of the 78th precinct building of the New York police department.
He was later released from custody after a judge set bail at $50,000 (£35,500).
The Irish fighter had handed himself in to police after footage emerged appearing to show him throwing a railing at a rival's bus at a UFC media event on Thursday.
Dublin-born McGregor, 29, had earlier been stripped of his UFC lightweight title.
He was caught on camera with a group of people in a loading dock at the Barclays Center before a vehicle carrying long-time rival Khabib Nurmagomedov and a number of other UFC fighters was targeted.
A New York Police Department spokesman said: "He (McGregor) has been charged with three counts of assault and one of criminal mischief."
Fellow mixed martial arts fighter Cian Cowley, 25, from Hyde Park, Dalkey, appeared in court alongside McGregor.
Cowley has been charged with assault and was released on $25,000 (£17,750) bail.
Both fighters are due to next appear at a New York court on 14 June.
In the video, people were seen attempting to restrain McGregor, with some managing to stop the bus from being hit by various missiles, including a metal barrier and a bin.
Clips from a video shot inside the vehicle showed an object hitting and cracking the windshield.
Lightweight fighter Michael Chiesa reportedly suffered a cut to his forehead during the altercation.
UFC president Dana White condemned the incident as "one of the most disgusting things that's happened in the history of the company".
During a hiatus from UFC, McGregor took up boxing and lost to Floyd Mayweather in a money-spinning bout last August.
McGregor has not fought in the UFC since November 2016 and this week was stripped of the 155lb championship title he had never defended.
It will be contested between Nurmagomedov and Max Holloway on Saturday.
McGregor responded to the move by tweeting on Thursday morning: "You's'll strip me of nothing you's do nothing c****."