The U.S. attorney is defending a U.S. census worker in a state trespass charge and wants to transfer the case to federal court.

The state charged census taker Russell J. Haas in March with second-degree criminal trespass. The crime is a petty misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The criminal complaint says Haas committed the crime on March 10 in Puna.

In a letter to a supervisor, Haas said he entered a property through an unlocked gate, then was confronted by a man who asked him to leave. Haas said he was wearing his ID badge and identified himself as a census worker.

When he offered to leave a questionnaire on the gate, he said the man threatened to call police.

As he waited outside the gate for police to arrive, Haas said the man deliberately dropped what appeared to be a police badge from his pocket. He said the two police officers who arrived talked to the resident, then told the census worker to leave or they would lock him up. He said the officers arrested him and took him to the Hawaii County Police Department's Keaau Station.

In papers filed in federal court, the U.S. attorney says it is defending Haas because he claims he was arrested while performing his duties as a federal official.

If a federal judge approves the transfer, the Hawaii County prosecutor might have to travel to Oahu to try the case.