SEATTLE (AP) - Prosecutors on Monday charged a couple in connection with a shooting during a demonstration over the appearance of a right-wing speaker at the University of Washington in January. Lawyers for the two said they acted in self-defense.
Elizabeth Hokoana, 29, was charged with first-degree assault for shooting a 34-year-old protester in the abdomen. Her husband, Marc Hokoana, was charged with third-degree assault.
Joshua Dukes, 34, was critically injured in the Jan. 20 shooting and had several surgeries before he was released from a hospital.
The shooting happened outside the university auditorium appearance of Milo Yiannopoulos, a far-right commentator known for leading a hate campaign that resulted in a lifetime ban from Twitter.
Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg said that the two took a gun to a volatile protest at the university's Seattle campus.
"Marc Hokoana engaged in several provocative acts, including using pepper spray on the crowd," Satterberg said. "The crowd reacted predictably to being pepper sprayed, but the evidence will show that at the time Elizabeth Hokoana fired her pistol that her husband was not in imminent danger."
Lawyers for the couple in a statement said the two have given police and prosecutors "evidence showing that our clients acted lawfully in defense of others."
"We look forward to presenting our case to a jury and we anticipate an acquittal," lawyers Kim Gordon and Steven Wells said.
Warrants have been issued for the arrests of the two, but they are not expected to be booked before their arraignment set for May 8, according to their lawyers and the prosecutor's office.
Prosecutors have sought $50,000 bail for each.
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Marc.