Category Archives: Hawaiian issues

A bit of history–Delivered after 46 years

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During the first week of September, I received an envelope from Leimomi Apoliona Brown. We met Leimomi in 1976 through her then-boyfriend, the late George Helm.

George and I had both been part of the “Kahoolawe Nine,” the group that staged a symbolic protest in January 1976 by landing on the island of Kahoolawe, at that time controlled by the U.S. Navy and used for naval target practice and other activities.

That first landing was followed by a number of others, along with arrests, court cases, a civil lawsuit, and a long lobbying campaign, eventually leading to an end to Navy control and the return of the island to the State of Hawaii.

Inside the envelope was a card Brown had prepared some 46 years earlier on behalf the fledgling Protect Kahoolawe Ohana. It wasn’t mailed, perhaps because it was written around the time Helm and another man were lost at sea in March 1977 while attempting to return to Maui after a subsequent protest on Kahoolawe.

The Ohana return address on the card was in Honolulu at that time, and would later move to its home base in Molokai. The original card appears to have been signed “Lei & George,” although part of his name has been lost where the card was torn.

Leimomi tracked me down during a visit to Honolulu in December, and told me about finding the card while cleaning following the death of her husband, attorney E. Cooper Brown, at the end of 2019. Luckily, this second time around, the card was delivered, a little tattered but otherwise basically intact. Not bad for its age! Our green kitchen counter top can be seen through where the card is torn.

In any case, just another little piece of island history.

Kingdom of Atooi case heading to trial after motion to dismiss is denied

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Four people charged with kidnapping and assault for their parts in the takeover of the office of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in January 2017 are now scheduled to stand trial the week of February 19, 2024.

It has been 4-1/2 years since the four were among about a dozen men dressed in red shirts and identifying themselves as federal officers of the Kingdom of Atooi stormed the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Oahu office and violently took control of the area.

Three defendants–Ene Faletogo, Jordan Faletogo, and Rheece Kahawai–are each charged with two counts of kidnapping, a class A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and a single count of second degree assault, a class C felony, with a maximum five year sentence if convicted.

The kidnapping charges stem from restraining OHA employees Davis Price and Kyle-Lee Ladao “with intent to terrorize…and/or interfere with the performance of any governmental or political function….”

Price alleged in a civil lawsuit he had been hit in the face, head, neck, and shoulders, while trying to keep the group from accessing a back-office area, then thrown to the ground, held down by four men, and put in a choke hold. He suffered two broken ribs, as well as scrapes and bruises.

Ene and Jordan Faletogo and Rheece Kahawai could face extended prison terms as “multiple offenders” if convicted of two or more counts in this case, according to the indictment.

Ene Faletogo was previously convicted of five drug-related charges, and was imprisoned for five years after pleading guilty in 2007, and as a result could receive an extended term as a “persistent offender.”

The fourth, Remedio Dabaluz, faces a single charge of terroristic theatening, also a class C felony.

Bench warrants are pending for two other defendants named in the indictment who did not appear in court to answer the charges.

Despite the seriousness of the charges, only Kahawai is represented by an attorney. The others have received court approval to represent themselves, and appear to have doubled down on a sovereignty defense, claiming that as officials of the what they claim in the sovereign Kingdom of Atooi, they are not subject to jurisdiction of the State of Hawaii.

So far, they have not been deterred by the failure of their claims to derail the prosecution. Whether it’s bravado or or a wish for martyrdom, they appear to be on a collision course with inevitable criminal conviction by relying on a defense that is legally dead on arrival.

In a motion to dismiss the charges, filed on April 5, Ene Faletogo claimed the defendants are “certified Federal Marchals of the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi/Kingdome of Hawaii,” and were on a “Government Operation” conducted “to remove the Trustees of OH and cease and desist all financial activity until a valid forensic audit can be completed, as signs of Illicit Financial Flow exists.”

Ene Faletogo

We are governed by the Hawaiian Kingdom Constitution 1839 / 1840, amended by His Majesty Mana Ali’ Nui Aleka Aipoalani in 2019. His Majesty is the Lineal Heir to the Kamehameha Dynasty (Kamehameha the Great, Kamehameha II, Kamehameha III). His Majesty was appointed and anointed by the Hereditary Chiefs and Families of Polynesia, Oceania, and the United Nations.

We are the Kingdom of Hawaii. The Incorporated State of Hawaii has no jurisdiction over our citizens, officials, and government employees. Investigating the Kingdom or any of our citizens breaks International Treaty Laws. This case must be dismissed due to no Jurisdiction and must be moved up to the Federal Court. This case cannot be Judicated in this Lower Court as this is a Federal Matter.

The same or similar argument has been tried many times before, and has never been successful.

Prosectors said: “A plethora of precedent holds this position to be wholly without merit. Therefore, this Motion must be denied.”

Their memo in opposition then proceeds to quote from a series of prior state and federal court decisions in which courts rejected such a sovereignty defense, both because it raises a political issue that cannot be resolved by the courts, but further because “the legal status of the State of Hawai‘i is firmly established.”

…Hawai?i courts have held that “[w]hatever may be said regarding the lawfulness of the Provisional Government in 1893, the Republic of Hawai‘i in 1894, and the Territory of Hawai‘i in 1898, the State of Hawai‘i . . . is now a lawful government.”

The motion to dismiss was denied after a hearing on July 13, and the trial was reset to begin on February 19.

For more background, see:

“Hawaii Supreme Court rejects sovereignty defense,” iLind.net Feb 3, 2014

“Hawaii Monitor: Some Laughable Royalty Claims,” Civil Beat, Feb 26, 2014

“Another example of the cross-over between Hawaiian sovereignty and right-wing antigovernment groups,” iLind.net, July 8, 2015.

“Critical reporting needed on self-proclaimed sovereigns,” iLind.net, Jan 19, 2019

“Keanu Sai claimed “diplomatic immunity” shielded him from fraud allegations,” iLind.net, May 13, 2019

“Occupation of OHA offices in 2019 finally leads to felony indictments,” iLind.net, Dec 23, 2021

“Two facing felony charges in 2019 takeover of OHA offices likely to raise a sovereignty defense,” iLind.net, Sept 4, 2022

“Defendant in 2019 invasion of OHA office claims state court has no jurisdiction,” iLind.net, Oct 17, 2022

A disturbing snapshot of the Hawaiian community

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This is an excerpt from testimony offered by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs on a bill related to geothermal energy. I’ve pulled out this short excerpt along with the relevant footnotes. It offers quite a disturbing picture of the status of Hawaiians in their home islands and beyond.

SB458
RELATING TO GEOTHERMAL ROYALTIES
Senate Committee on Energy, Economic Development, and Tourism
Senate Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs
Senate Committee on Higher Education

The majority of Native Hawaiian families, in Hawaii, are unable to makes ends meet,7 with 63% of Native Hawaiians reporting that they are finding it difficult to get by.8

Native Hawaiians have the lowest household income. Native Hawaiians have the highest poverty rates for individuals and families.10 Native Hawaiians make less money,11 with lower average earnings for both men and women.12 Native Hawaiians have the highest rate of using public assistance and homeless services.13 Native Hawaiians are overrepresented among the homeless in Hawaii.14

OHA is deeply concerned with Native Hawaiians being driven out of Hawai‘i by economic instability stemming from socio-political-economic upheaval, which has largely disconnected Native Hawaiians from their ‘aina for more than a century. Today, more Native Hawaiians live outside of the Hawaiian Islands, far beyond the boundaries of their own homeland.15

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Footnotes:

7 Aloha United Way / United for ALICE, ALICE in Hawai ‘i: 2022 Facts and Figures, Nob. 2022, p.6.

8 Id. at 9.

9 Dept. of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, Demographic, Social, Economic, and Housing Characteristics for Selected Race Groups in Hawaii, Mar. 2018, p.3.

10 Id. at 13.

11 OHA Report, Affordable Housing for Hawai ‘i and Native Hawaiians: Exploring Ideas and Innovation, Aug. 2020, p.10.

12 Dept. of Native Hawaiian Health, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Assessment and Priorities for the Health and Well-Being in Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, 2020, p.12.

13 Id.

14 Partners In Care, 2022 Point In Time Count, p.7.

15 “Estimates from the American Community Survey showed that in 2011, there were about 296,400 Native Hawaiians in Hawaii and about 221,600 on the continental U.S. Just a decade later, those numbers flipped. In 2021, there were about 309,800 Native Hawaiians in Hawaii and about 370,000 in other states,” Hawaii Public Radio, More Native Hawaiians Flock to mainland cities and leave Hawai‘i, Jan. 23, 2023, citing high costs, citing the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2021.

About the Occupied Forces Hawaii Army “warship”

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A question was left several days ago as a comment on an unrelated blog. I blocked the comment, which as a result was not displayed.

The question was simple, if you recall my article last April that described the “warship” of the group known as Occupied Forces Hawaii Army, under the command of a man calling himself “Colonel Sam Lilikoi.”

The reader asked:

Is it true that DLNR finally impounded Colonel Cuckoo’s dilapidated “warship” for nonpayment of mooring fees?

If the comment had been accompanied by a valid email address, I would have responded directly.

But there was no associated email provided, so I’m taking the liberty of sharing my reply here.

I sent a query to the communications office of the Department of Land and Natural Resources and received a prompt response this morning from Dan Dennison, the department’s senior communications manager.

“We checked with both our boating and enforcement divisions and both report they have not seized Nelson’s vessel,” Dennison said.

So there you have it. The rumor that the “warship” has been impounded are not true.

If the unlikely event there is information to the contrary floating around in the wild, please leave a comment with details.

By the way, in case you missed the news, Lindsey Kinney, who was arrested and charged with aiming death threats using Instagram, was convicted last week by a federal jury on both charges.