I think pretty much everyone involved had that one figured out. It's still assault and battery.
Desjardin allegedly told police she was not in the right state of mind when the incident occurred...
No excuse for this druggie or alcoholic!
As soon as Desjardins started yelling at Nolte, he should have moved through Jeff Cooper's color code from Yellow to Orange.
As soon as Desjardins started to hit him (Assault), Sean Nolte should have neutralized the threat.
No need to wait for her to complete the crime of Battery. He should have grabbed her right wrist and the hair on the back of her head and slammed her face first into a wall or the ground. Alternatively, he could have grabbed her right wrist with his left hand and driven the heel of his right hand up and into her nose, shattering it. In either case, one blow, over in less than 0.3 seconds, and a proportional response of self-defense to a threat of unknown intensity or duration.
It does not matter that Desjardins may have a pair of X-chromosomes or self-identify as some kind of female. It does not matter that she is older, overweight, and unfit. It does not matter if she is drunk, on drugs, or mentally impaired. The last three factors represent an increased threat and risk to Nolte. A civilized society requires that those who choose to initiate violence be IMMEDIATELY neutralized.