Back to the original story...his attorney seemed so ‘go along to get along’ with USMA’s decision, I strongly suspect this guy did more than get in a fight. He probably told a little white lie about what happened...and that is an honor violation.That's my suspicion as well.
The other possibility is that this young gentleman was 'on the bubble' due to other issues, and this latest incident was enough to make USMA decide they'd had enough.
According to the original article someone in the Houston Police Department contacted West Point and forwarded the police report completed by the officer posing for pictures with Patti LaBelle while Cadet King was still in the hospital. The original article claimed the disciplinary was taken immediately at that time. The original article implied that it was a knee jerk reaction by West Point.
I work for a government organization that emulates the military with rank and a “code of conduct”, etc.. Unfortunately if someone made a mistake like this at HQ which made them look bad later... I know for certain that they wouldn't think twice about throwing a cadet under the bus if it helped them save face. So if we want to speculate here... why don't we add that likely possibility into the mix.