You clearly did not see the bond hearing where even his attorneys would not go anywhere near characterizing the thrown popcorn as a “physical assault” or any sort of a justifiable reason to escalate beyond that.
They didn’t want to be laughed out of court.
His defense will be either SYG or self defense. He does not have any other way to go with this.
As I have said several times that is thin.
And yes anytime you hit someone with anything it is assault. Even spitting on someone can be considered assault.
This case, as per the laws in Florida, is going to come down to what was in his mind in that split second. Their verdict will be based on if he can convince a jury that he felt that or was convinced that he was being threatened with immediate great and grievous bodily harm or death.
I will say again that this line of thought is thin, but it is all he has for a defense.