Judge sets Kanahele 'free with a short leash'

He's sent to halfway house to await a new trial and told not the visit the Nation of Hawaii's headquarters

By Linda Hosek

Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele today exchanges his green prison garb and cell for street clothes and a room at a federal halfway house, following a surprise order to release him pending his new trial.

"He's free with a short leash," said Hayden Aluli, his attorney, who had suggested $250,000 bail and electronic monitoring as conditions for Kanahele's release.

Aluli said the first order of business was finding Kanahele, who lost 35 pounds in prison, a plate of Hawaiian food.

U.S. District Judge David Ezra, citing the need to balance Kanahele's rights with law enforcement concerns, yesterday released him to Miller Hale in Honolulu without bail.

But he prohibited Kanahele, the 41-year-old leader of the self-proclaimed Nation of Hawaii, from going to Waimanalo to visit the nation's headquarters or his home.

"I don't believe given his mistrial and his time in custody that continued detention would serve a useful purpose," Ezra said.

"But allowing him to return to his compound would be too dangerous for Mr. Kanahele and law enforcement officers. It's not that Mr. Kanahele would engage in violent acts, but he has a lot of followers."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Les Osborne had opposed any release, arguing that he remained a danger to the community and probably would not appear for any court appearances.

He cited Kanahele's three felony convictions, including one in 1988 for threatening a police officer with a gun, and said Kanahele verbally threatened police as recently as June.

Osborne also said two local federal judges had ruled that Kanahele was a danger and that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had upheld the rulings.

"There is no change here," said Osborne, who relied on previous rulings and transcripts to oppose bail.

The government has charged Kanahele with allegedly obstructing law enforcement agents last year and for harboring federal fugitive Nathan Brown, who is evading a 78-month sentence for tax fraud. The first trial ended in a hung jury, and the government will retry him.

But Aluli called numerous witnesses, including psychiatrists, religious leaders and sovereignty leaders. Some opposed Kanahele's approach but described him as a nonviolent man who deserved bail.

A. Frenchy DeSota, an Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee, arrived in a wheelchair and walked with a cane across the courtroom to testify.

"I swear to you, Judge, with everything I hold sacred and decent -- including the lives of my grandchildren -- he will not run," DeSoto said. "That's why I'm here in my wheelchair."

DeSota also said that she "wanted to slap his head" when Kanahele occupied the Makapuu Lighthouse area in 1987 and pulled a gun on a police officer. But she said he had improved himself since then and become peaceful.

Kinau Boyd Kamali'i, also an OHA trustee, said she didn't agree with all of Kanahele's beliefs, but described him as compassionate.

"Some might take that as violent," she said. "But Mr. Kanahele will never be a danger to this community."

She offered $2,000 to enable Kanahele to transfer to the half-way house today. Ezra had said the government did not have enough money to pay for another slot, but said Kanahele could move immediately if he could pay for it.

Aluli, who praised Ezra for his fairness after his ruling, initially tried to postpone Kanahele's detention hearing when he learned Ezra would preside over it.

He said Ezra may have perceived Kanahele as a threat because the Nation of Hawaii had served him with a "public notice," alleging crimes against the nation.

"I don't intimidate that easily," he said to Aluli. "I don't feel threatened. I feel I can give a fair and impartial hearing."

Kanahele, who asked Ezra if he could "speak straight" with him, said he was scared of him at first.

"You're known as a hanging judge," Kanahele said, adding that he thought the federal government was setting him up when he got Ezra for the detention hearing.

Kanahele also told Ezra that he believed he had been put in prison "to understand that I've been too aggressive. It took a break to understand that I got to work within the system. This is from the heart."

He said he would return for his second trial, scheduled for Jan. 3.

Aluli said he would file a motion to dismiss charges against Kanahele, claiming double jeopardy.


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