Eric Mabius pleads not guilty to battery over alleged bar altercation

Eric Mabius has pleaded not guilty to battery and resisting arrest without violence.

The Ugly Betty actor was arrested in Florida on 20 February and booked into the Nassau County Jail and Detention Center, where he posed for a mug shot with a cut next to his right eye.

Mabius, 53, submitted the not guilty plea through his lawyer at a Nassau County court on Monday.

According to a police report obtained by Us Weekly, Mabius was allegedly involved in a fight with two women, Jennifer Moreno and Amelia Bell, at a bar in Yulee.

Bell told police that Moreno was allegedly "disrespectful to everyone at the bar" and "began to spit on several people". Moreno reportedly started to push Bell when she asked her to leave.

According to Bell, the actor then got involved in the dispute and knocked both of the women to the ground.

The report reads, "(Bell) said this only took a few seconds but while she was on the ground Eric got on top of her and was pulling her hair" and "ripping a handful of her hair from her scalp".

A witness told police that Moreno spat on him and the star "slung both girls to the ground". He allegedly intervened and "grabbed Eric off" the women.

When the police officers arrived on the scene, they observed "a white male" trying to help Moreno stand up.

"They were both extremely intoxicated and kept trying to yell at everyone in the bar. I escorted them outside to try to separate everyone. (Moreno) just laid on the ground and refused to listen and or speak," the report continues.

Mabius, who played Daniel Meade on Ugly Betty, allegedly "became more belligerent" and would not follow the cop's "simple commands to just sit on the bench".

Both Mabius and Moreno were arrested over the incident. Mabius was also ordered to not contact Bell or come within 500 feet of her.