Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick Released From Jail, Then Charged With Assault

Embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was ordered released from jail on $50,000 bond Friday, only to be charged minutes later with assaulting a detective in a separate case.

Michigan's Attorney General Mike Cox announced the assault charges against Kilpatrick after he had a physical confrontation with a detective trying to deliver a subpoena to the mayor's friend July 24.

At his arraignment later in the day, Kilpatrick was released again — this time on $25,000 bond, with 10 percent cash due.

A not-guilty plea was entered by a magistrate. Kilpatrick has been ordered to wear an electronic tether and not travel in both cases.

In the latest set of charges, the mayor faces two counts of assaulting or obstructing a police officer in the furtherance of their duties. Each felony count brings up to 2 years in prison or a fine of $2,000.

Cox said Friday that he's never heard of a situation where a police officer trying to serve a subpoena was assaulted.

But Kilpatrick attorney Jim Thomas said his client did nothing of the sort.

Thomas told FOX News Kilpatrick only "gently escorted them off the porch" when they came with the subpoena.

The assault charges only complicate the many legal troubles the Detroit mayor has faced.

Kilpatrick spent the night in a one-man jail cell Thursday for violating his bond in a criminal case.

In that case, the mayor and a top aide face perjury, official misconduct and obstruction of justice charges stemming from his testimony in a civil trial last year. At the heart of the case are steamy text messages contradicting their claim that they didn't have a romantic relationship.

District Judge Ronald Giles had sent Kilpatrick to jail Thursday for traveling to nearby Windsor, Ontario, for city business. Kilpatrick failed to alert authorities that he was traveling out of state.

But the punishment for the bond violation was more excessive than what prosecutors had sought, and Wayne County Circuit Judge Thomas Jackson ruled that the mayor be released.

Jackson said Giles went too far.

Although not in the general jail population Thursday, the mayor was being treated like any other prisoner — "no better, no worse," Sheriff Warren Evans said. Evans told WDIV-TV Friday morning that Kilpatrick had an "uneventful night" in jail and would be permitted to dress in civilian clothes for Friday's court hearing before Jackson.

Earlier Thursday, Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty waived their right to a preliminary exam in the perjury case. That means those charges now go directly to Wayne County Circuit Court. Arraignment for the pair was set for Aug. 14. Both deny the charges.

Deputy Mayor Kandia Milton said he is running the city while Kilpatrick is in jail.

City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. would succeed Kilpatrick if the mayor resigns or is forced from office.

In May, the Detroit City Council asked Gov. Jennifer Granholm to invoke a little-used state law and remove Kilpatrick from office for misconduct. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 3.

Thomas said Kilpatrick is not done fighting.

"He's not going to resign, and he hasn't been convicted — and until either of those two things occur, he's the mayor of the city of Detroit," he told FOX News.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.