By Mark Mastunaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Dennis K. "Bumpy" Kanahele, head of state of the self-proclaimed Nation of Hawaii, is spending at least two days in jail following his surprise arrest by federal authorities yesterday.

Kanahele, 41, was arrested at Honolulu Airport on charges of harboring federal fugitive Nathan Brown, a Hawaiian tax protester, and impeding and obstructing law officers who tried to arrest Brown twice in 1994.

Federal Magistrate Barry Kurren ordered Kanahele held without bail until a detention hearing tomorrow, after U.S. Attorney Les Osborne called Kanahele a flight risk and danger to the community.

Federal Public Defender Richard Ney, representing Kanahele, disputed the characterization. But Kurren said that can be debated at tomorrow's hearing.

Kanahele was indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday morning and arrested less than three hours later at the airport, where the Hawaiian Airlines plane he was on had stopped on a flight from Maui to Kauai.

"This is kidnapping," Duke Sabedong, one of Kanahele's aides, said after the arraignment.

Also named in the indictment is Gordon Kaaihue, one of Kanahele's "peace officers," on one count of interfering with Honolulu police Officer T. Carreiro tried to arrest Brown in January 1994.

Kaaihue was not with Kanahele at the airport and was being sought last night.

Kanahele and Kaaihue also were arrested last month on state warrants stemming from their failure to answer traffic citations. They're scheduled for trial in those cases next month.

Return to the Hawaiian Independence Home Page or the News Articles Index