General Vang Pao, the legendary Hmong military leader, appeared for the first time since he was indicted on federal charges of plotting to overthrow the Laotian government.

“Just the fact he was given permission to come celebrate the New Year with the Hmong community that was a very big deal to a lot of people,” Representative Cy Thao told KARE 11 News.

Vang had to get clearance from a judge to travel from his home near Los Angeles to St Paul. He’ll get another pass a month from now to attend a Hmong New Year’s event in Fresno, but most of the time is expected to remain home pending trial.

“It’s very clear that General Vang Pao since he was a very young man has been committed to the United States,” former United States attorney Thomas Heffelfinger told KARE 11.

Heffelfinger, who leads Vang Pao’s legal defense team, stood near the general on stage as he spoke at the festival.

“He trusts the United States,” Heffelfinger remarked, “And it is very clear based on the charges he facing now that the federal government is being very heavy-handed in their dealing with General Vang Pao right now.”

At age 77 Vang Pao is still revered among the Hmong people in the United States and elsewhere. At times Friday morning’s formal program inside Roy Wilkins Auditorium resembled a tribute to the enigmatic leader, complete with a slide show set to music.

“He was a hero to many people,” explained Rep Thao when asked why Vang commands such respect even after being charged with a crime.

“And he will continue to be a hero, regardless of whether there’s an indictment or not, to many people. And I think even with an indictment it made him even a bigger hero, a folk hero almost.”

Vang led Hmong guerilla fighters, armed by the CIA, in battles against communist forces during the Vietnam War. His loyalty to the U.S. is one of the reason thousands of refugees from that conflict were allowed to immigrate to America.

Rep. Thao says many of his most ardent supporters still hold out hope that General Vang Pao will pave the way for them to return to their homeland in the mountains of Laos.

“They basically want to go home,” Thao said,

“So, to them, he is their last hope to go home to a free Laos. He represents that dream for them.”

Whether that dreaming led to scheming will be up to the federal courts to decide. Vang and nine others are accused of conspiring to buy $10 million in weapons, including banned stinger missiles, to stage a coup of the Laotian government.

As a former federal prosecutor Heffelfinger knows that conspiracy charges are especially difficult to prove to a jury.

“In order for the government to prevail on a conspiracy they have to approve an agreement. And quite frankly that’s an extremely high burden to meet.”

Pao’s longtime friend and fellow Hmong veteran Xang Vang dismissed the notion.

“I was his interpreter and everything he does I should know. Why didn’t I know this ahead of time?”

Especially when it comes to these charges, Xang Vang believes he would have been consulted by his friend, the general.

“Back in Laos I was the ammunition director for the CIA people. And I knew all of the ammunition, the guns, the artillery supply. Why wouldn’t I know about his case?”

“So I knew the General wouldn’t have any involvement in this.”

Vang Pao didn’t address the case in his speech Friday morning, delivered in Hmong followed by an English translation by his son Cha Vang. He did urge the crowd to look beyond the 50,000 Hmong in Minnesota.

“I send a very special wish for all the Hmong people who live under a blanket of fear, who still go to bed hungry at night.”

Even some of the General’s critics came to watch him speak and take part in the festivities. Dr. Yang Dao, a Hmong educator and civic leader, sat at one of the main tables at the event.

Thao said that Yang Dao split with Vang Pao over philosophies. Yang Dao advocates free market reforms as a path to democracy in Laos and freedom for Hmong still living there, and in refugee camps, in poor conditions.

“The fact they’re in the same room is very significant to many people watching. It conveys a sense of one family, one Hmong family. The hope was always they work with each other, come to some common ground.”

Governor Tim Pawlenty and First Lady Mary Pawlenty sat next to Vang Pao during the program Friday morning. The governor said they didn’t have an opportunity to speak about anything of substance.

“Well I had a chance to sit next to him, but I didn’t have a chance to talk to him because it was so loud — in a good way, it’s a celebration.”

As for the notion of the Governor of Minnesota sitting next to an indicted criminal defendant, Heffelfinger cited the basic tenet of the criminal justice system.

“General Vang Pao, like every other American, is presumed innocent until proven guilty and he’s a far, far away from being proven guilty.”

There’s no trial date yet in the case, which is being heard in a federal court in Sacramento. Heffelfinger says it’s still in the discovery stages, with a pre-trial conference set for some time in January.

Thao told KARE 11 that, as a Hmong state legislator, he’s been asked by some constituents to condemn Vang Pao. He’s been asked by others to publicly declare Vang Pao’s innocence.

He’ll do neither.

“I don’t know. I’m not a judge. I don’t have the evidence. That’s not my role.”

Thao said even those who can’t support the General don’t want to see his life end in prison.

“I think the hope for a lot of the community members is that he gets to spend the rest of his life with his family instead of behind bars.”