Bates: Ravens fan accused of brutal assault on 3 Commanders fans

BALTIMORE – A 24-year-old Ravens fan has been charged with the attack on three Washington Commanders fans following an Oct. 13 game in Baltimore.

Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates made the announcement via X on Friday night.

“Defendant John Callis has been indicted today for the alleged assault caught on video and seen by many in our community following the Ravens v. Commanders game,” Bates wrote. “The video evidence in this case speaks for itself.”

Video of the Oct. 13 attack allegedly carried out by Callis, who was wearing a Lamar Jackson T-shirt, on Federal Hill went viral on social media following the Battle of the Beltway confrontation.

Police say Callis, of Sarasota, Florida, assaulted three people in two separate incidents. According to police, two victims fled and later returned to find their phones missing.

Callis then assaulted them again, along with a third victim who recognized his friends and jumped in to help them, police said. Two suffered minor injuries and the third was diagnosed with a concussion and memory loss, police said.

Police issued an arrest warrant for Callis shortly after the assault, and he turned himself in four days later.

callis faces one count of first-degree assault and three counts of second-degree assault.

His attorney, Brian Thompson, said Wednesday that his client has a long history of substance abuse and was “using cocaine and alcohol for a couple of weeks.”

In arguing for release from pretrial detention, Thompson noted that Callis immediately hired an attorney and turned himself in to Baltimore police in the Southern District.

“He has one of the most recognizable faces in the country right now,” Thompson said. “There is no way this boy could go anywhere even if he wanted to, and he has clearly indicated to this court that he is not willing to flee, but rather to come back here and face the charges, and he did.”

But District Judge LaTina Burse Greene ordered Callis to remain held without bail, describing the attack as an “unprovoked assault.” He said he would consider changing his decision if both the defense and the prosecution presented him with a plan to release him and place him in an inpatient treatment program with 24/7 home detention.

“Until that time,” Greene said, “he will be held without bail.”

Dylan Segelbaum contributed to this report.

WJZ is a media partner of The Baltimore Banner.