MIAMI — Former NFL star Antonio Brown made his first appearance in a Miami court on Wednesday morning — with a judge granting him a bond in his attempted murder case.

At the hearing, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer allowed Brown to post a $25,000 bond to get out of jail. Glazer also placed Brown on a low-level house arrest, which allows him to work while wearing an ankle monitor, and ordered him to stay away from the victim.

Brown appeared via Zoom from jail and was quiet throughout the proceeding.

On Tuesday, Brown, 37, was extradited to Miami from Essex County, N.J. Law enforcement originally apprehended Brown in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Brown’s Instagram posts show he had been in the Middle East for the last few months.

The former All-Pro wide receiver was wanted on an attempted murder charge stemming from a May 16 dispute at a boxing event hosted by influencer Adin Ross. Brown entered a plea of not guilty, attorney Mark Eiglarsh told the Miami Herald.

At the bond court hearing, prosecutor Kimberly Rivera said the state sought to keep Brown in jail until his trial because he had “fled the country.”

“He was supposed to surrender; he did not,” Rivera said.

Brown, Eiglarsh said, was not on the run. Brown has business in Dubai — and hired Eiglarsh to surrender before he was extradited.

“He went there in May, before any warrant was issued,” Eiglarsh said. “From the scene, police let him leave.”

Video of the incident outside the boxing event showed Brown appearing to hold a gun and running out of frame. Seconds later, gunshots were heard.

Brown allegedly punched Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, a 41-year-old, during the scuffle before the shooting. Detectives interviewed Nantambu, who said he tried to leave after Brown attacked him. But Brown, he asserted, chased him with a gun and fired at him — possibly grazing his neck.

“The actions he was forced to take were solely in self-defense against the alleged victim’s violent behavior. Brown was attacked that night and acted within his legal right to protect himself,” Eiglarsh said in a statement.

Eiglarsh, Brown’s defense attorney, displayed a photo of Nantambu’s injury on his neck — and argued that it was inconsistent with being grazed by a bullet. At the hearing, prosecutors said Nantambu was not hit by a bullet.

After Rivera and Eiglarsh sparred about the shooting, Judge Glazer said the circumstances around the incident mostly reflect an aggravated assault rather than an attempted murder. The judge, however, did not reduce Brown’s charges.

Brown, the warrant says, was detained and searched. No firearm was found on him, although police found two spent shell casings and a damaged right-handed holster outside the venue. He was released because the man shot, later identified as Nantambu, was no longer at the venue. Nantambu had gone to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital to seek medical care.

After the scuffle, the former All-Pro wide receiver said on X he was jumped by multiple individuals who tried to steal my jewelry and cause physical harm to me.”

When the warrant was issued for the Miami native’s arrest in June, he had an attorney who secured him a $10,000 bond, including house arrest. But as months went by, Brown never turned himself in — and police would not divulge whether they planned on extraditing him.

Attorney Richard Cooper, who is representing Nantambu, told the Herald that Nantambu is grateful to law enforcement “for bringing the defendant back after this dangerous criminal had fled the country.”

“It was Mr. Brown’s intention to kill my client,” Cooper said at the hearing, alleging that Brown fired at Nantambu randomly.

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