Law enforcement raids Hawaii hotel site to remove protesters
HONOLULU — State sheriffs on Thursday removed protesters from the ruins of a Hawaii hotel where they have been squatting since last year in an attempt to block redevelopment of land where Hawaiian chiefs once lived and where Elvis Presley’s character got married in the movie “Blue Hawaii.”
The Hawaii Department of Public Safety said in a statement Thursday that state sheriffs arrested 23-year-old Mahealani Hanie-Grace for trespassing at Coco Palms on Kauai.
The protest began when two men arrived claiming they owned the property because they descend from King Kaumualii, the last ruler of Kauai. Dozens of other protesters have come and gone.
Police have cited protesters for trespassing. A judge last month issued an order to evict them.