A 55-year-old man who had to be restrained by a Honolulu district judge earlier this week in a courtroom was upset with the judicial system, which wouldn’t investigate his father’s death several decades ago, his wife said Thursday.
Steven Michael Hauge, 55, is being held at Oahu Community Correctional Center after not being able to post $1,500 bail. Hauge was arrested and charged Monday with disorderly conduct, obstruction of government operations and fourth-degree criminal property damage.
Elizabeth Ann Taylor, Hauge’s wife, said she hopes to post her husband’s bail this week.
Hauge was arrested at 4:30 p.m. Monday after he entered the 10th-floor courtroom of District Judge Lono Lee, jumped on his bench and broke a flagpole behind the judge.
Lee put the man in a chokehold and subdued him until deputy sheriffs arrived to assist.
During his initial court appearance Thursday before District Judge Leslie Hayashi, Hauge repeatedly interrupted the proceedings, saying at one point, "I don’t understand what is going on here."
He added, "I claim the right of free speech. I will not shut up."
At one pointed he yelled, "The criminal justice system in Hawaii is unfair."
Hayashi continued Hauge’s case until Thursday because Hauge said he wanted to be represented by his own attorney.
She also rejected a personal request by Hauge to release him until his next court appearance.
Deputy Attorney General Janine Udui said bail for Hauge should be continued at $1,500 because he is unemployed and does not have a local address because he was kicked out of a group home. The case is being handled by the attorney general’s office because several deputy prosectors were involved in subduing Hauge.
However, Hauge said he does have a job as a recruitment manager and needs medical attention for a liver problem.
His wife also said that Hauge lives with her in her Ward Avenue apartment. Taylor said her husband left a group home because people living there were using illegal drugs.
Taylor, 75, said that she thinks that her husband’s actions might stem from his inability to get authorities to investigate his father’s death in Halawa Correctional Facility, where he was killed in the 1980s.
Following her husband’s hearing, Taylor said Hauge is "just frustrated that the legal system is not doing what it is supposed to be doing."
Taylor said that for years her husband has been trying to get authorities to look into his father’s death but that "no one was interested in it."
Taylor said Hauge might have been at the Alakea Street courthouse building on Monday because of an outstanding vehicle infraction and wasn’t aware that his hearing date had been changed.
"That just exacerbated the situation," Taylor said.
She said she thinks Hauge, in his frustration with the court system, grabbed a Hawaii flag posted behind the judge and broke the staff when he was swinging it around.
"He did not intend to attack the judge," Taylor added.
At Thursday’s hearing, three deputy sheriffs stood near Hauge, who was dressed in a blue shirt and shorts.
Although Hauge has an extensive record dating from 1977 with more than 50 convictions for a variety of charges from burglary and fraud to assault, Taylor said he has stayed out of trouble for the past 10 years.
