Former ‘Jackass’ star Bam Margera has turned himself in, pleads not guilty to assault charges

Days after Pennsylvania State Police issued a warrant for his arrest, former Jackass star Bam Margera turned himself in to authorities and was arraigned at a Chester County courthouse Thursday morning, facing charges that he allegedly assaulted his brother and made terroristic threats toward other family members.

Margera’s lawyer, Michael T. van der Veen, said that he pleaded not guilty during a brief arraignment hearing at the courthouse in Kennett Square, and that “the real facts will come out.”

Margera was fingerprinted, photographed, and released on $50,000 unsecured bail, according to court records, meaning that he is “free to travel and conduct his business,” van der Veen said.

» READ MORE: Former ‘Jackass’ star Bam Margera is wanted by Pennsylvania State Police after an alleged assault

Judge Albert Michael Iacocca ordered Margera to undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation, to not contact the alleged victims, and to stay away from his Pocopson Township home. Margera must also get permission from the court’s pretrial services unit before leaving Pennsylvania, court records show.

“Mr. Margera enjoys all of his constitutional rights, including the presumption of innocence,” van der Veen said in a statement. “The wild rumors regarding his behavior this week are absolutely false. He is in good health and in good spirits.”

Following the hearing, Margera wrote on Instagram that “everything went great and the false accusations of what my brother says are not true and he will be sued for defamation as well as being evicted from castle bam sooner than later.”

“Yeah, this meltdown I guess is my fault now,” Margera’s brother, Jesse, wrote in response on social media Thursday morning. “It’s always someone else’s fault.”

State police announced an arrest warrant for Margera on Monday after responding to a disturbance at Margera’s home — otherwise known as Castle Bam — on the 400 block of Hickory Hill Road in Pocopson Township late Sunday morning. Margera allegedly punched his brother, and threatened to kill all the occupants of the house, including his father, Phil.

Jesse Margera told police that his brother banged on his locked bedroom door early on Sunday, and left a signed note that threatened them if they thought about calling the police, according to court documents. Jesse Margera added that he then found his brother urinating into the kitchen sink. Bam Margera then allegedly struck his brother in the right side of the face.

Bam Margera fled, taking off into a wooded area near the home, according to court documents. Police had not been able to locate him since responding to the disturbance on Sunday.

Margera is charged with several misdemeanors, including making terroristic threats to his father, brother, and two others, as well as simple assault and harassment.

Despite reports that Margera was on the run and evading law enforcement, van der Veen said that his client, once made aware of the warrant, hired a lawyer and made arrangements to turn himself in.

The Philadelphia lawyer — perhaps best known as the defense lawyer in former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial last year — declined to say where Margera was this week. But he said that allegations that Margera was using substances causing him to hallucinate during the episode were “absolutely false” and “defamation.”

Earlier this week, Margera’s brother wrote on social media that Bam Margera had been using methamphetamine, and had “been up for a about a week at this point and is hallucinating.” And Margera’s mother, April, told Fox News on Tuesday that Margera has “just been painted as a monster, and anybody on drugs turns into a monster.”

Margera, who has been in and out of rehab facilities for years, has long seen his sobriety issues play out publicly. More recently, he has been in the news due to a string of substance-related issues, including a March incident in which he was arrested for public intoxication in Burbank, Calif.

“It’s really just a breakdown of the system,” Margera’s mother told Fox News. “Sometimes when you’re a celebrity, it’s like you get special treatment in rehabs, and it doesn’t help.”

Margera, van der Veen said, is “a person just like anybody else,” and “his family, like every family, has disagreements at times.”

“He is talented, and he is now well known because of his talents. But he enjoys his privacy, and he enjoys his space just like the rest of us.”

Margera’s next court date will be May 25, records indicate.