HONOLULU -- A coalition of Hawaii activist groups spoke out on Thursday in favor of the Kalani High School grad who's refusing Army orders to go to Iraq.

The Japanese American Citizen's League of Hawaii joined with the American Friends Service Committee and others at the Nagasaki Peace Bell near City Hall.

They were supporting Army Lt. Ehren Watada, who faces an Army disciplinary hearing in Washington state next month.

"This outpouring of support for Ehren is so important for Ehren. To know that he's being supported in what he's doing, because he is supporting the Constitution, the Constitution that so many people in country died for," Watada's father, Bob, said.

Watada's preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 17. The Army charged him with missing movement, conduct unbecoming an officer and contempt.

The member of the Army's first Stryker Brigade Combat Team refused to go to Iraq after researching the war and determining it to be illegal. He asked to resign his commission, but the Army refused.