Former 'Empire' Star Bryshere Gray Charged With Assault and Battery

New legal trouble for Bryshere Gray ... the former "Empire" star is facing a criminal charge in Virginia.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Bryshere is charged with one misdemeanor count of assault and battery.

The docs show the alleged incident that led to the criminal charge happened on Friday ... Bryshere was arrested on Sunday and he's since bonded out of jail.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a private citizen got into an altercation with Bryshere and filed a complaint with the court.

In Virginia, we're told, private citizens can bypass police and file complaints with the magistrate's office for misdemeanor cases ... and our sources say that's what happened here.

We're told in these situations, an arrest warrant gets issued and either the sheriff's office or the local police department executes the warrant and makes an arrest.

Bryshere, famous for playing Hakeem Lyon on FOX's hit show "Empire," is due back in court Wednesday for his arraignment.

As we reported ... Bryshere was arrested in 2020 for felony domestic violence following a standoff with SWAT at his Arizona home. He ultimately pled guilty to felony aggravated assault and was sentenced to 10 days in county jail and 3 years' probation.

Bryshere was later arrested in November 2022 for allegedly violating his probation for allegedly failing to inform his probation officer about multiple run-ins with law enforcement.