The man accused of attacking Holocaust educator Elie Wiesel at a San Francisco hotel on February 1 apologized for his actions Monday.

During a hearing to determine whether the suspect, 22-year-old Eric Hunt, was mentally fit to stand trial, Hunt said he was sorry for scaring Wiesel especially in view of what the Nobel Peace laureate had endured during the Holocaust.

Hunt has denied the charges of attempted kidnapping, false imprisonment, battery, stalking, elder abuse and hate crimes, which carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.

He is being held in a psychiatric ward in a San Francisco jail.