Bret Hart's Attacker From The WWE Hall Of Fame Posts Bond

By Marc Middleton

Zachary Madsen, the 26 year old amateur MMA fighter from Nebraska who attacked Bret Hart at Saturday's WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony during The Hart Foundation's induction, bonded out of the Brooklyn Detention Complex on Wednesday. His bond was set at $1,500.

Advertisement

Madsen is due back in a Kings County Criminal Court room tomorrow, April 12. He was charged with two counts of 3rd degree assault, one count of 3rd degree criminal trespassing and interfering with a sporting event. Madsen, who has a public defender, will be facing up to 1 year in jail for each count of assault, if he's found guilty. The judge at his hearing earlier in the week also granted an order of protection against Madsen to Hart and the WWE security guard that also suffered minor injuries in the attack, Thaddeus Jones. During that arraignment, Madsen's lawyer had urged the judge not to set bail, arguing that Madsen was "agreeable and cooperative" and that would be hard for him to come up with the money.

Advertisement

As noted, prosecutors said in court that Madsen told police that it felt like "the right time" for him to attack Bret on Saturday night during the induction. He was quickly taken down by security and a group of wrestlers and other people, including Ronda Rousey's boyfriend Travis Browne, Dash Wilder, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Shane McMahon, The New Day, Bret himself and others. Madsen was taken to the back by security and handed over to police, then booked in jail.

Hart and Jones were examined at a local hospital but released after the incident. Hart was said to be dealing with pain and stiffness in his hip after the incident. Jones was kicked in the ribs by Madsen.

WWE issued a statement on the incident and said the man has been turned over to the proper authorities. Their statement read like this: "An over-exuberant fan surpassed our security at ringside and made his way briefly into the ring. The individual has been turned over to the proper authorities."

Madsen was linked to bizarre Twitter account that has been sending strange tweets to WWE Superstars for months now, including messages to Triple H and Vince McMahon. Madsen is also due in court next week to face stalking charges from an arrest a few months ago. Madsen was arrested then for allegedly stalking MMA fighter Haris Talundzic. That was Madsen's third arrest related to the situation with Talundzic.

Advertisement

Bret issued a statement this week that said he was not injured. "What a wild weekend to say the least! First of all I want to thank WWE for not only the Hall of Fame honor for myself and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, but for their hospitality with my family and friends," Bret wrote. "Regarding the ceremony, firstly I want to let everyone know that I am okay and was not injured. If there's one thing I want everyone to take away from the Hall of Fame ceremony is not so much what happened, but how I wasn't going to let anything stop me from completing my tribute to my best friend and our team. I'm also glad I got to join @natbynature and @thebethphoenix for their WrestleMania moment. Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and words."

Below is a photo of Madsen in court on Sunday for the WWE Hall of Fame incident, along with Hart's Instagram post and videos from the incident for those who may have missed it:

Advertisement

Comments

Recommended