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Broncos' Jonathon Cooper pleads not guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence charges
Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper. Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Broncos' Jonathon Cooper pleads not guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence charges

By Andrew Kulha  |  Last updated Jun 8, 2026 8:54 PM ET
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Jonathon Cooper will have his day in court after being arrested on suspicion of criminal mischief with a domestic violence enhancer.

The Denver Broncos outside linebacker appeared in a Douglas County, Colorado court and pled not guilty on Monday morning to misdemeanor domestic violence charges.

Cooper and his girlfriend were arrested last Thursday after Parker (Colorado) police responded to a "domestic incident" between the two. Cooper was arrested at 11:16 p.m. and spent the night in jail. His girlfriend was also arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence with an additional charge of petty criminal mischief.

This case will now move through the court system. There is a motions hearing scheduled for July 6, and a potential jury trial would start on July 22.

Notably, the Broncos will open training camp in late July. Cooper's attorney, Harvey Steinberg, is requesting a trial date as early as possible to avoid the linebacker having to miss training camp.

Broncos LB Jonathon Cooper pleads not guilty to domestic violence charges 

According to Jeff Legwold of ESPN, who cites court records, Cooper, 28, and his girlfriend, Jade Fiegen, got into a physical confrontation over cellphones. 

Cooper claims that Fiegen confronted him over allegations of infidelity and threw his cellphone across a room. He told police that he had grabbed Fiegen by the upper arm as he was retrieving his phone and that he had "braced his neck against her neck" during that attempt.

He says she wouldn't leave his apartment and he ended up biting the phone, which caused "disabling damage".

The girlfriend's account is more graphic.

She alleges that Cooper had "grabbed her by the neck and held her against the wall for about a minute." She alleges that the NFL linebacker had picked her up and thrown her to the ground three times and that he also punched the wall next to her head.

A Parker police officer did write in an affidavit that due to the conflicting reports and lack of specific evidence, there was no probable cause for harassment or assault charges. A second officer did observe a small mark on Fiegen's neck, but that officer did not believe that mark was consistent with the description of the alleged assault.

"These markings and scratches did not appear consistent with a larger male lifting [her] up into the air by her throat as well as repeatedly being thrown to the ground," that affidavit reportedly read. "The small mark on [the woman's] neck did not appear to be consistent with the claim that [she] had been held up in the air by her throat by another individual.''

The Broncos are aware of the situation and released a statement saying that they were gathering more information. The NFL is also aware of the matter, and it's worth noting that the league could punish Cooper under the league's personal conduct policy, regardless of what happens legally.

Cooper is heading into his sixth season in the NFL and with the Broncos. He's a former seventh-round pick out of Ohio State.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

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