A Maui District Court judge on Wednesday issued a bench warrant for the arrest of a University of Hawaii-­Maui College assistant professor of Hawaiian studies after he refused in court to acknowledge himself in the English language.

Kaleikoa Kaeo, who was scheduled to start a trial for his August 2017 arrest for trying to block a shipment of parts to the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope under construction atop Haleakala, spoke only in the Hawaiian language when Judge Blaine J. Kobayashi asked him repeatedly if he was present for the trial.

While an interpreter was provided for Kaeo during his initial court appearance, Kobayashi in December approved a motion by the Maui Prosecutor’s Office requiring that the trial be conducted in English.

There is no legal requirement to have Hawaiian language interpreters for those who speak English but prefer to speak Hawaiian in court, according to the state Judiciary.

Nevertheless, Wednesday’s events prompted outrage within the Hawaiian community.

Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chief Executive Officer Kamanaʻopono Crabbe issued a statement saying the agency is “deeply disturbed and offended” that Kaeo was prohibited from defending himself in the Hawaiian language and that a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

“Punishing Native Hawaiians for speaking our native language (evokes) a disturbing era in Hawaii’s history when olelo Hawaii (Hawaiian language) was prohibited in schools, a form of cultural suppression that substantially contributed to the near extinction of the Hawaiian language,” the statement said.

“It is disappointing that the state government continues to place barriers on olelo Hawaii, 40 years after Hawaii’s Constitution was amended to recognize the Hawaiian language as an official language of the state. We demand that the state Judiciary find an immediate solution to this issue.”

Kahele Dukelow, wife and fellow UH-Maui College professor, said Kaeo ironically is now in the middle of a trial on Oahu that is being translated from the Hawaiian language. The trial is over his February 2016 arrest for blocking proceedings at the Na‘i Aupuni Constitutional Convention in Maunawili.

Even though Kobayashi issued the bench warrant while Kaeo was in the court Wednesday, he was allowed to walk out of the court, and he remained free and taught a class Wednesday night.

Kaeo said it was important for him to take a stand because Hawaiian is an official language of the state, the original language of the islands and should be permitted in official proceedings.