Broncos' Jonathon Cooper facing additional charges

Cooper was arrested and then booked at 10:07 p.m. Thursday night. Per an earlier 9News report, court documents showed an additional two charges being laid in this case: second-degree assault by strangulation along with third-degree assault – knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury. As Klis notes, however, Cooper has now also been charged with harassment and with violating a protective order which was issued in the aftermath of his initial arrest.

An alleged incident involving Cooper and his girlfriend on June 4 resulted in both parties being arrested and facing misdemeanor domestic violence and criminal mischief charges. The second-degree assault charge Cooper now faces is a felony. According to Klis, the officers who arrived on scene decided “there was no probable cause for assault charges” based on the conflicting statements which were given and a lack of physical evidence.

The new charges come after Cooper’s girlfriend gave an account which recalled the confrontation over Cooper’s phone and subsequent events. She alleges Cooper “grabbed [her] by her neck with one hand and lifted her feet off the ground and up against the wall” and kept her there for approximately one minute. It was at that point, per her statement, that Cooper grabbed his phone back. The girlfriend alleges Cooper then “proceeded to pick her up and throw her back on the ground approximately three times” while also punching a wall next to her face.

On Monday, Cooper entered a not guilty plea to the three charges he was facing at the time. The 28-year-old also took to Instagram to apologize for his actions. “This situation is not who I am,” the post reads in part. Cooper has been with the Broncos since 2021, and he has served as a full-time starter for the past three seasons. His extension runs through the 2028 campaign and includes $12M in scheduled compensation for the coming year.

A motion hearing has been scheduled for July 6, with a trial set to begin on July 22. As is standard practice with domestic violence cases, an investigation by the NFL in advance of any potential supplemental discipline under the personal conduct policy will wait until the legal proceedings have run their course.