Broncos' Jonathon Cooper pleads not guilty to assault in domestic violence case

Katie Langford and Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post on Aug 31, 2026

Published in Football

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DENVER — Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper pleaded not guilty to a felony assault charge for allegedly strangling his ex-girlfriend and other lesser charges in Douglas County District Court on Monday afternoon.

Cooper, 28, appeared in a black dress shirt, tie and slacks alongside his attorney, Harvey Steinberg, and did not speak during or after the hearing. Steinberg declined to comment as he walked with Cooper out of the courthouse.

Steinberg asked for a trial as soon as possible because of the case’s “very negative impact on my client’s ability to make a living.”

“We would like to resolve this quickly,” he told District Court Judge Daniel Warhola.

Warhola set Cooper’s trial for Nov. 10, 12 and 13. In a split-screen, while Cooper was in court the Broncos gathered for their first practice since NFL commissioner Roger Goodell placed Cooper on the commissioner’s exempt list Sunday. Being on the exempt list means Cooper can be in Denver’s building, work out and attend meetings, but cannot practice with the team or play in games.

“We wait on the league,” Payton said about how the Broncos approach Cooper’s status going forward. … “We just wait for this process play out.” The Broncos are slated to play nine regular-season games before Cooper’s trial begins. The league does not necessarily always wait for legal proceedings to play out entirely before completing reviews of the personal conduct policy. Once that review is completed, the league will determine if Cooper faces a suspension.

Cooper was first arrested June 5 and again June 12, first following an argument with his now-former girlfriend which resulted, eventually, in a felony assault charge alleging strangulation, according to court records and arrest affidavits. Then he was arrested again a week later for violating a protection order after he sent his girlfriend 20 unreturned messages, some graphic in nature, and knocked on her apartment door for “5-10 minutes,” according to a separate arrest affidavit.

The Broncos opted not to release Cooper in the immediate aftermath of the pair of arrests. Instead, he went to an inpatient clinic near Vail for more than a month and then reported with the rest of the Broncos veterans for training camp on July 29.

He is set to appear in court again on Sept. 14.

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