Lindsey Kinney, a 44-year old Kaneohe man who was road captain or “enforcer” for the Nakipi Motorcycle Club during a period when he and several other members had allied themselves with a criminal organization allegedly controlled by Honolulu business owner Michael J. Miske, Jr., was sentenced on Tuesday to 37 months in federal prison for using social media to threaten to behead several people, including Governor David Ige and Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi.

In addition to the prison term, Kinney will spend three years on supervised release, during which he will have to comply with conditions set by the court or face addition prison time.

The charges are unrelated to the Miske case. Kinney’s online threats followed a confrontation in early 2022 between Department of Land and Natural Resources enforcement officers, including the Waianae harbor master, and Eric Nelson, also known as Colonel Sam Lilikoi, the leader of a fringe Hawaiian sovereignty group, Occupied Forces Hawaii Army. Nelson had been temporarily moored at the harbor despite owing more than $30,000 in unpaid mooring fees for use of small boat harbors statewide. Following the incident, Nelson asked his followers for help identifying the names and residences of the DLNR employees. Kinney, who characterized himself as affiliated with Occupied Forces Hawaii Army, responded by aiming a series of threats at government officials, according to the federal charges.

In his initial appearances in federal court, Kinney claimed Hawaiian sovereignty based on following a protocol set up by Nelson’s organiztion, and argued he was was no longer subject to the federal court’s jurisdiction because he is no longer a U.S. citizen. The court quickly dismissed his claims.

During a period from about 2015 to sometime around 2017, a group of Nakipi members allegedly took part in drug dealing, provided “muscle” to collect drug debts, and took part in armed robberies of other drug dealers, including the theft of their drug stashes, while allegedly acting under the umbrella of the Miske organization.

As enforcer, Kinney would have ensured that members followed club rules, and also protected members from outside threats. In some motorcyle clubs, the enforcer has the title of Sergeant at Arms. Whatever the title, the enforcer is an integral and important member of the club.

Kinney was apparently blackballed by other Nakipi after he ran afoul of Miske. In a Hawaii News Now interview broadcast after Miske’s arrest in 2020, Kinney said he had turned down a cash offer to kill Jonathan Fraser, an offer he understood had come from Miske. Later, Kinney said, he also turned down an offer of cash to keep quiet about the original offer. Kinney said he believed these rejections made him a “loose end” that Miske needed to eliminate.

In May 2017, Kinney was ambushed by several men, at least two of them armed, in a parking area at Kualoa Ranch while he was working on a movie set. Shots were fired, but Kinney was able to escape unharmed. As Kinney drove from the site following the attack, he took to social media to identify Miske and several others who he said took part, including Miske’s half-brother, John Stancil, Jacob “Jake” Smith, and Harry Kauhi. Kinney continued to call out Miske on Instagram, taunting him and his crew for missing their target, and repeatedly accusing Miske of having a role in the death of his own son, as well as being responsible for the disappearance of Johnny Fraser.

Following his 2020 broadcast interview, Kinney had been considered to be an potentially important witness against Miske, but his erratic behavior and delusions, exhibited in the threats at the center of these latest charges, have likely removed him from the government’s list of potential witnesses.

However, several other defendants who have already pleaded guilty and are expected to testify against Miske during the upcoming trial have admitted their roles in what prosecutors have dubbed the Miske Enterprise.

Jake Smith and Harry Kauhi took part in the Kualoa ambush, and along with Lance Bermudez and Wayne Miller, participated in other murder-for-hire plots that Miske allegedly directed and has been charged with.

Miske faces several charges related to the kidnapping and murder of Jonathan Fraser, who Miske reportedly blamed for the death of his son as a result of a November 2015 high-speed crash in Kaneohe, the attack on Kinney, and the attempted murder of a Waimanalo man who Miske believed was cooperating with law enforcement investigators. In each case, other participants have already “flipped” and are expected to testify.

The trial is currently scheduled to begin in January, but deadlines for filing of pretrial motions fall as early as mid-September.

Motions to suppress evidence are due on or before September 15, and a hearing on any such motions will be held on October 13 in Judge Derrick Watson’s courtroom. Additional motions to keep out other prejudicial evidence, known as motions in limine, are due in November and will be considered at a court hearing on December 8.

Initial questionnaires regarding the ability of prospective jurors to serve on the trial, expected to last several months, are being mailed out August 17. Attorneys must submit their proposed questions to be included in a questionnaire seeking information from the pool of jurors deemed able to serve by August 21.