Friday's court appearance was simply to let the judge know that Mirkarimi has enrolled in domestic violence classes and doing all the things he's supposed to do as part of his guilty plea to false imprisonment. But the big story was outside court. Eliana Lopez wrote a newspaper op-ed piece from Venezuela, where she and their son Theo are visiting her ailing father.
"I miss them terribly and I want them to be OK," Mirkarimi said, responding to his wife's letter after the court hearing.
Lopez wrote in her op-ed that the New Year's Eve argument was mischaracterized as domestic violence, when it was simply an emotional misunderstanding between the two. Lopez said her husband's troubles were the result of a vendetta by city politicians to oust him from office.
Last month, Mayor Ed Lee suspended Mirkarimi as sheriff, charging him with official misconduct. Lopez compared it to an attempt 10 years ago to overthrow the government in her native Venezuela.
"I am shocked to witness the same formula being applied to my husband... A coup d'état and that is what is happening to Ross," she wrote.
When asked if Mirkarimi also felt that it was all political, Mirkarimi said, "Well I can't speak to that. All I can say about that is its morphed from the legal here, the justice system into a political arena and I don't think there's any denying that."
Lopez wrote she is committed to their marriage. "Be strong my dear, knowing that my heart is next to you and you are Theo's everything."
"I view her op-ed quote, quite frankly, as a love letter," Mirkarimi said.
Mirkarimi faces a myriad of hearings associated with the mayor's suspension and his lawsuit appealing that suspension. The mayor had no comment.
