REMEMBERING PILIPO - a Hawaiian Kingdom National:
Pilipo Souza was very active with Hawaiian issues, including Hawaiian burials. Although he denied being kanaka maoli, his wife Leota is part kanaka maoli.
Pilipo Souza helped with many projects, also associated with Dr. Kekuni Blaisdell, et. als. He wrote many editorials which was passed, emailed to his peers, his followers, and supporters. He is missed.
Pilipo Souza's services:
Kamehameha School's Chapel
Kapalama Heights
March 15, 2020 - Sunday, at 3:00 P.M.
PILIPO'S PILIKIA/Troubles as a Hawaiian Kingdom National
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Aloha kakou,
As you know, our dear-departed brother Pilipo Souza was very active on many levels dealing with the Hawaiian Kingdom and the general principles of freedom.
I was asked by several people for a recap of the run in he had with the state over taxes. Here it is:
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Pilipo Case Summary
When John Philip “Pilipo” Souza repatriated to the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1996, he notified his employer he was not a U.S. citizen so they needed to stop withholding taxes on his wages. His employer ignored Pilipo’s instruction and continued withholding… When Pilipo retired, he filed for a refund of the ‘taxes’ that were improperly withheld. The state sent him a refund check, but when he deposited it at his bank, he was arrested and charged with theft of state funds. He fought it in court propria persona (as his own counsel). At a preliminary hearing he asserted the U.S./state had no jurisdiction over him (because of his Hawaiian nationality) and began to walk out of the courtroom. The judge* ordered his immediate arrest and that he be held in jail until trial. So Pilipo had to prepare for his defense while in jail.** All they would give him to write with was a pencil and ruled paper. With that, he wrote and filed numerous motions, all of which were rejected and denied by the judge. A writ of habeas corpus was filed, the court treated it like a motion and ignored it. Pilipo insisted on a jury trial. Jury selection was a joke with not a single ‘peer’ selected. At the start of the trial, the judge forbade Pilipo from mentioning anything about jurisdiction. Pilipo could not make any reference to: ‘sovereignty,’ ‘the overthrow.’ the Hawaiian Kingdom, fake annexation, fake statehood… and no reference pertaining to U.S. citizenship (the 14th Amendment, etc.), or cite the IRS code, etc. In other words, Pilipo was denied any means to mount a defense for himself.
It was a kangaroo court with the judge keeping the jury completely in the dark on the real issue: that of Pilipo’s nationality. Every time Pilipo started to go there, the judge cut him off. Thus, Pilipo was denied any way to present his reasons for filing for the refund of his own money that had been withheld against his specific directives. He was convicted for ‘theft of state funds’ and the judge sentenced him to 12 months in prison. Pilipo immediately secured a lawyer to file for an appeal. Usually the serving of a sentence is suspended, pending appeal. But not in this case. The judge ordered Pilipo be taken from the courtroom to immediately begin serving his one-year prison term. It wasn’t until, maybe six months after he served the prison time, that the appeals court vacated Pilipo’s conviction on the basis that he had been denied a proper defense. The appeals court ordered the case be remanded for retrial. (Presumably, the next time around, Pilipo would be allowed to present pertinent information concerning his citizenship, the question of U.S. jurisdiction, the illegality of the IRS, etc.) But, probably because they were afraid of the truth coming out, the state never did file to retry the case.
Pilipo could have brought several lawsuits against the state (wrongful prosecution, wrongful imprisonment, etc.) but he and his family were exhausted by the 3-year ordeal they had just endured. So, Pilipo won a legal and moral victory, but paid a dear price for it.
However, by overturning the lower court’s verdict, the state Court of Appeals cracked opened the door for Hawaiian nationals caught in the state system, to use arguments pertaining to jurisdiction, sovereignty, nationality, etc. as a defense.
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* The judge, who egregiously prevented Pilipo from having a fair trial is Michael D. Wilson, who is currently an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii.
** Ret. State Judge William K. Amona and Hawaiian Kingdom Attorney General, Aran A. Ardaiz (both deceased) had advised Pilipo and assisted from the outside.
Malama pono,
Leon
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facebook:
the following was emailed today:
Aloha
Inbox
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|  12:28 AM (1 hour ago) | | ||
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Aloha Kakou,
Mahalo for all expressing aloha for Pilipo and his family... Pilipo Souza's ho'olewa (memorial celebration) will be 4pm, March 15 in the chapel at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama campus.
For more info or to convey your aloha, contact Pilipo’s son Kamakani at: hopetoo2016@gmail.com
Thought you might want to see the attached article that appeared in a Dec. 2014 French-language magazine, L’Hebdo published in Switzerland. The reporter was on a stop-over in Honolulu for a few days, called me and came to a Coalition of Hawaiian Nationals meeting at Na Mea in Ward Warehouse. Also attached are a few more photos.
Malama pono,
Leon
note: could not download the article but the French
called them "Militants" ….. and it was only in French...fyi.
this is another pic sent:
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