CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Donald Love-Boltz, the 73-year-old Iowa man charged with assaulting an Iolani Palace employee during a failed palace takeover, left court yesterday after pleading not guilty.
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Assault trial set in palace break-in
An Iowa man enters a plea of not guilty for allegedly hitting a worker with a gate
The man accused of assaulting an Iolani Palace employee during last month's break-in by a group calling itself Kingdom of Hawaii, Nation, plans to call the Honolulu police sergeant who was at the scene as a defense witness, the man's lawyer said.
Donald Love-Boltz, 73, of Iowa pleaded not guilty in state court yesterday to second-degree assault. Circuit Judge Derrick Chan scheduled trial for November and ordered Love-Boltz to stay away from the palace grounds. Officials released Love-Boltz from custody last month after he posted $5,000 bail.
After the court appearance, Love-Boltz said a Honolulu police sergeant was at the palace during the Aug. 15 break-in. "I said, 'You're welcome to come in and watch.' He said, 'Well, it's not my jurisdiction.'"
Honolulu Police Chief Boisse Correa has ordered an internal investigation into whether the police sergeant refused a palace employee's request for assistance as she was allegedly being assaulted.
Police say Love-Boltz repeatedly swung a heavy iron gate that struck palace facilities manager Noelani Ah Yuen, smashing her body between the gate and a concrete pillar and causing her back and neck injuries during the break-in.
Love-Boltz said Ah Yuen had her hands on the gate and that someone else was swinging it. He said he pulled her away to prevent the gate from injuring and possibly cutting off her hands.
Love-Boltz appeared in court yesterday wearing a uniform with sergeant's stripes on his shoulders and claims to be a federal marshal investigating the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.
"So I'm on assignment," he said.
Love-Boltz said he has been involved in seeking justice for native Americans for the past 40 years but was made aware of the native Hawaiian situation just one week before the break-in.
He said a third party contacted him to assist a man on Maui claiming to be the heir to the Hawaiian throne. Two days later he was on Maui checking the man's credentials.
Love-Boltz admits having a hard time pronouncing Hawaiian words, which he sometimes replaces with similar-sounding terms. "Kanaka maoli" for him is "guacamole," he said.