Back on January 17, a dozen men associated with the self-proclaimed “Kingdom of Atooi” took over the lobby at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs headquarters on Nimitz Highway. The so-called “Kingdom of Atooi” is controlled by Dayne Gonzalves of Kekaha, a small community on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. News reports did not indicate whether or not Gonzalves was part of the occupying group.

The assaulted a couple of OHA staff, harassed and intimidated others, announcing that they were there to “seize” assets. The men were dressed in red or black t-shirts identifying them as “federal marshalls,” most also displaying badges. Police were called, but did not take aggressive action in the face of the invasion. After a couple of hours (?), police arrested four men for misdemeanor assault, and one for suspicion of harassment. They were quickly released on $100 bail each. The others involved in the takeover were not detained.

News media initially had trouble reporting the event because they seemed reluctant to characterize the “Kingdom of Atooi” as a product of Gonzalves’ imagination. Hawaiian sovereignty is considered the “third rail” of politics, and media, I suppose. The rule of thumb seems to be, “don’t touch it if you don’t have to.”

Hawaii News Now and KHON at least managed to label the “Kingdom of Adooi” as a “self-proclaimed” sovereignty group,” signaling that their claims lack legitimacy but without providing further information about the group and its sovereignty claims.

A second-day story by Star-Advertiser writer Timothy Hurley did a much better job characterizing the group.

Hawaiian community leader Hinaleimoana Wong condemned the action by the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi.

“I question their integrity, I question their logic and I question their complete lack of leadership and the negative precedent that this sets for the Hawaiian community,” she said.

The Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi is led by Dayne Aleka Gonsalves of Kekaha, also known as Alii Nui (king) Aleka Aipoalani. Gonsalves has had some run-ins with the law, including the time he was arrested during a Superferry protest in 2007 and when he flashed a kingdom federal marshal badge at a county meeting the same year.

Honolulu attorney James Wright said the group has a reputation on Kauai for being dangerous and violent.

“They don’t hold signs and pule (pray). They’re more in the tradition of cracking heads,” he said.

Gonzalves and his “Kingdom” crew have been around for some time on Kauai, bringing in cash through donations, by selling “Kingdom” drivers licenses and passports, even trying to float their own currency. There are probably other schemes as well.

Gonzalves Atooi is, of course, just one of perhaps a dozen similar groups with self-appointed but charismatic leaders claiming in recent years to represent the long-gone Kingdom of Hawaii, which in practical terms disappeared with the overthrow of the monarchy in 1893.

Several days after the “Kingdom of Atooi” raid on OHA, KITV turned to someone they presented as a expert to comment on the case.

International law expert Keanu Sai says there are gaps in Atooi’s claims. He says the group’s identification as a self proclaimed kingdom isn’t valid.

“You don’t put federal in the same sentence with monarchy. They’re mutually exclusive. You can’t be a federal government and a monarchy at the same time…if anything that shows its an indication of ignorance, a need to be educated. We need to be educated as a people. I don’t say just as natives but across the board,” Sai explained.

What KITV failed to put on the record is that Sai is also the self-appointed leader who claims the right to speak for the Hawaiian Kingdom. He claims the title “Chairman of the Council of Regency” of the Hawaiian Kingdom Government. That would certainly be relevant for viewers trying to decide how much weight to give his views.

One thing different in the case of the OHA-Atooi incident is that other mainstream Hawaiian leaders and organizations came forward later to publicly condemn the assault on OHA headquarters. This is pretty atypical. Hawaiians have usually stood aside, not supporting but not publicly disclaiming actions by the various pretenders to the throne.

“Kuhio Lewis, CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, read a statement on behalf of the group, which included kumu hula, educators and well-respected community leaders,” as reported by the Star-Advertiser.

”We denounce the acts of this group and the pain and suffering they inflicted, and call upon the men to consider the negative and far-reaching impacts of their actions because it is counterproductive to the work of uplifting our lahui (nation),” said Lewis. “We call out to our Hawaiian community, that we must hold ourselves to a higher standard of peace and nonviolence. We should be the first to call out acts that cross lines that should not be crossed, even when our ideas and strategies differ, and especially when they include physical violence.”….

Lewis, in his statement, also called upon law enforcement officials to hold the men accountable.

“These were acts of terroristic threatening and serious assault, yet those arrests, some with long, public criminal records that include domestic violence against family members, currently face only minor charges,” he said….

While high bail has been applied to Native Hawaiian seeking to protect the land, these men were released on $100 bail, Lewis noted. Within hours of posting bail, he said, they took to social media to celebrate.

“This inequity is questionable at best,” said Lewis. “We are left to wonder if the events of last week had occurred at any other government agency, would the response by authorities have been the same.”

Hawaiian activist and advocate Trisha Kehaulani Watson agreed.

“Higher degrees of assault need to be looked at, impersonating federal officers needs to be looked at…possibly kidnapping,” she said. “They held people against their will.”

And here’s an excerpt from a statement by the Board of Directors of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs.

“We condemn the behavior of the perpetrators, who, as self-proclaimed law enforcement officers, created an environment of fear at the OHA headquarters, inflicting bodily and emotional harm on some of our public servants….”

“Further, we denounce the atmosphere of misinformation and rhetoric that has emboldened those representing the ‘Kingdom of Atooi’ to believe that the use of violence is an acceptable form of civic engagement or advocacy.”

Despite this moment of welcome candor in speaking of Gonsalves Atooi, the news media failed to follow-up with this and other statements shared during a press conference a week after the attempted OHA takeover. The follow-up questions that should have been asked are obvious, but they remained unasked and the broader meaning of this unified response to the Kingdo of Atooi remains unrecognized.