An Augusta man shot by a guard last month after allegedly entering the Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building in Augusta with a knife and attacking a security officer pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a federal charge.

Derik Broox Wight, 41, was charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with assaulting a federal official April 20. Federal authorities said Wight attacked a security officer, who was contracted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service and was screening people at the entrance to the building at 40 Western Ave.

At one point, Wight held the knife near the officer’s throat, according to officials. A second security officer then shot Wight, who was arrested and taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta for treatment of his gunshot wound. Wight has since been released from the hospital, but detained by federal authorities at an unidentified correctional facility.

During a hearing Wednesday in federal court in Bangor, Wight pleaded not guilty to the lone charge against him of assaulting a federal official, according to court documents. The charge carries maximum punishments of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Wight is being detained without bail, pending his trial, at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Joel Casey, an assistant U.S. attorney, filed a motion for detention in U.S. District Court in Bangor, seeking to have Wight detained without bail until trial. Authorities argue in the motion there is a serious risk that Wight would flee if released, noting he faces allegations involving a crime of violence.

The motion states the court should detain Wight because there are no conditions of release that would assure he would show up to his court appearance or not be a danger to the public.

Judge John C. Nivison granted that motion following an April 28 hearing. Wight, who was initially represented by lawyer James Nixon, an assistant federal defender for the District of Maine, waived his right to have a detention hearing and, according to Nivison’s written order, “consented to being detained pending trial.”

The trial is tentatively scheduled to begin July 5.

The security company employing the armed guards, Paragon Systems Inc., contracts with the Federal Protective Service to scrutinize people who visit the Augusta building, which houses a post office and several federal offices, including the Internal Revenue Service.

In an affidavit filed in court, FBI Special Agent Timothy Theriault wrote that the incident was recorded on video and he watched the surveillance footage.

Theriault wrote that Wight entered the building and approached the security screening area, which is just inside the Sewall Street entrance to the building, and then pulled out a knife as he walked up to one of the officers. The affidavit identifies the security officer only by the initials “D.B.”

“Wight grabs D.B. with his left hand keeping him against the wall, and puts a knife up to the throat area of D.B. Wight still holding D.B. against the wall, pulls his knife hand back holding it out at his side by his hip,” Theriault wrote. “Another protective security officer draws his service weapon and points it at Wight and, after a moment, fires a single shot, whereupon Wight drops the knife and falls to the ground.”

Federal authorities have declined to release the identity of the guard who shot Wight.

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