HONOLULU — A group of Native Hawaiians claiming to be the state’s legitimate rulers occupied the grounds of a historic palace for two hours before being arrested by state officers in the second recent takeover of its kind.
A staff member of the Iolani Palace said she was assaulted and slightly injured during the takeover Friday night, then snubbed by city police who claimed they didn’t have jurisdiction. Gov. Linda Lingle said Saturday that there would be an investigation into the police response to the takeover.
A group of men, wearing red shirts with “security” stenciled in yellow on the back, took over the grounds by chaining the gates of the palace next to the State Capitol and posted signs saying: “Property of the Kingdom of Hawaiian Trust.”
Kippen de Alba Chu, executive director of the Friends of Iolani Palace, said he and other staff members were locked down in the palace and a nearby administration building during the takeover.
“They’ve got a king, and the king wants to sit on the throne,” de Alba Chu said.
State law officers climbed over the fence a couple of hours after the takeover began and made about 20 arrests. The palace, normally open to tours, will remain closed during the weekend to assess any damage and to ensure its security, police said.
Ah Yuen, an Iolani Palace employee, said she was assaulted by protesters and called for help from a Honolulu police officer, who told her the palace grounds were not under city police jurisdiction.
Witnesses said the confrontation started when Yuen went to the palace gate and talked with the protesters, who locked the gate with a chain and then forced their way into the palace itself before officers from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources came to arrest them.
Hawaiian activists have long used the site for protests against the U.S. occupation of the islands.
Gov. Lingle promised an investigation and said the people who invaded the palace “have to be shown it’s not going to be acceptable.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
