DETROIT — Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was charged Friday with assaulting two investigators who were trying to deliver a subpoena to the mayor’s friend last month. The two felony counts carry a maximum penalty of two years in prison or a fine of $2,000.
Kilpatrick spent Thursday night in jail after violating bond conditions in a second case against him. He is accused along with a former top aide of perjury and other charges over their testimony in a lawsuit.
The city charter says a felony conviction evicts him from office. The City Council already wants to bounce Kilpatrick on other grounds. And Gov. Jennifer Granholm, acting under a little-used state law, has scheduled a hearing for Sept. 3 that could lead to his removal for misconduct.
“The charges against the mayor are very serious, and the state of affairs is clearly hurting the business of our community,” said U.S. Rep. John Dingell, a Democrat representing suburban Detroit and the dean of the state’s congressional delegation.
Dressed in a custom suit, Kilpatrick was arraigned Friday in the Wayne County jail via closed-circuit television. A magistrate entered a plea of not guilty and ordered the mayor to pay 10 percent of a $25,000 bond.
Defense attorney Jim Thomas said the mayor will fight the new charges.
“Let’s take it step by step. . . . I want my day in court,” Thomas said.
Kilpatrick, a Democrat, later was released from jail after meeting a $50,000 bond.
He spent Thursday night in a one-man cell for violating his bond in the perjury case.
He was required to notify the court or prosecutors when traveling out of state on city business. Kilpatrick admitted flunking that condition when he crossed the Detroit River to Windsor, Ontario, on July 23 to discuss the sale of an international tunnel.
