14 August 2007
A man who dragged Holocaust scholar Elie Wiesel from a hotel elevator has apologized in court. Eric Hunt, 22, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted kidnapping, false imprisonment, battery, stalking, elder abuse and hate crimes following the February 2007 incident at San Francisco's Argent Hotel. The apology came in the midst of a hearing to determine whether Hunt, who originally pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity but later changed his plea, should stand trial. Hunt said "Mr. Wiesel, I'm sorry for scaring you and I'm sorry you experienced the Holocaust. My grandfather fought the Nazis and I'm sorry about what happened." Wiesel did not respond but went on to describe how Hunt grabbed him from the elevator and demanded that the 78-year-old professor come to his room for an interview.
Hunt, from New Jersey, has been in a San Francisco jail psychiatric ward since May. His defense lawyer maintains that Hunt is not an anti-Semitic stalker, but a man suffering from mental illness, and that when he confronted Wiesel, he was in the grip of a "manic episode" triggered by his grandfather's death.
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