US singer Chris Brown has been charged with assault after a fight broke out near a Washington hotel, the latest problem for the Grammy Award-winning artist with a snarled legal history.

Brown and another man have been charged with felony assault in the altercation that started just before 4:30 on Sunday morning, Washington DC police spokesman Paul Metcalf said.

The man who was attacked received treatment for his injuries at a local hospital and was released. Police wouldn’t elaborate on his injuries but said the felony charge was based in part on the extent of the injuries.

The victim’s name wasn’t released. Christopher Hollosy, 35, was also charged with felony assault, police said. Police wouldn’t say how Brown and Hollosy may have known each other.

Brown and Hollosy were being held pending a court hearing on Monday, Metcalf said. Neither Brown’s publicists nor his lawyer Mark Geragos responded to messages left on Sunday.

Brown was in Washington to perform on Saturday night at an event billed as a “Homecoming Weekend” party at a downtown club.

Brown remains on probation for assaulting his on-again, off-again girlfriend Rihanna just before the Grammy Awards in 2009. The photos of Rihanna’s bruised face caused outrage when they were published.

Brown pleaded guilty to one count of felony assault and received five years’ probation.

His probation was briefly revoked earlier this year after a traffic accident. A hit-and-run charge was dropped against him, but the judge gave him a thousand more hours of community service when he reinstated his probation.

Brown, who lives in Los Angeles, has been involved in other altercations since 2009. Police have said a 2012 brawl at a New York nightclub began when members of the rapper Drake’s entourage confronted Brown on the dance floor. Neither was charged in the fight that turned into a bottle-throwing free-for-all.

Brown also tussled with singer Frank Ocean and others during an argument about a parking space outside of a recording studio in Los Angeles, according to witness accounts given to deputies at the time. Ocean said he suffered an injured finger, but no charges were filed.

Brown’s arrest could affect his probation in the Rihanna assault case.

Brown is due back in court on November 20 in Los Angeles to update a judge on his probation. Prosecutors could seek a revocation of his probation or ask a judge to impose additional penalties.

Steve Cron, a Los Angeles criminal defence lawyer, said prosecutors and a judge may wait to see how the Washington case plays out before taking any action against Brown.