Creighton was a royalist who became embroiled in the January 1895 Wilcox rebellion to restore the monarchy after the Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. He and several others were never formally charged, but were placed in solitary confinement, during which they were treated well, fed well, and allowed outdoors to exercise. They broke under the mental strain of isolation. In an exchange for release from prison, all signed a document in February agreeing to the exile. They were not allowed to have a copy of the document. In appreciation of jailer J. A. Low's humane treatment of them, they presented him with a kauwila cane originally made for James H. Blount. They were issued passports, and 11 of them, including Creighton, left on the "Australia". Spectators dressed in their finest attire arrived at the Oceanic wharf. A band played, and leis were presented to the departing exiles. Lorrin A. Thurston, who had been a key player in the overthrow of the Kingdom, and a leading proponent of annexation by the United States, characterized the exiles as, "...stirring up trouble among the kanakas [native Hawaiians]," and long associated with "...the most lawless elements at Honolulu." Creighton was among 10 individuals granted unconditional pardons in September and allowed to return to Hawaii.