Chris Brown isn't out of the woods yet, but the charges against him have been reduced to a simple assault misdemeanor, CNN reports.
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The embattled R&B singer and his bodyguard were arrested over the weekend after a scuffle outside the W Hotel in Washington, D.C. While it is unclear whether Brown initiated the altercation or was merely defending himself, what is clear is that a dust-up occurred and that Brown and his bodyguard spent some 36 hours in a D.C. jail.
Brown appeared "calm in leg irons and cuffs" in front of a packed courtroom, according to W-USA reporter Bruce Leshan.
Outside of the courtroom, singer Trey Songz and Brown's family caused a bit of a commotion with court security because they weren't allowed into the proceedings, Leshan tweeted. In the end, Songz and Brown's family made it inside to see Brown released as a free man. Well, sort of.
Brown has been ordered to report to his California probation officer within 48 hours and must stay at least 100 yards away from the man he is accused of assaulting. Both men must return to court Nov. 24, CNN reports.
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