The Office of Mauna Kea Management released its incident log Thursday afternoon regarding protests outside the Mauna Kea visitor center that have been ongoing since late March. ADVERTISING The Office of Mauna Kea Management released its incident log Thursday afternoon
The Office of Mauna Kea Management released its incident log Thursday afternoon regarding protests outside the Mauna Kea visitor center that have been ongoing since late March.
While the office emphasized that most protesters have been courteous, the log lists several incidents of apparent vandalism at the now closed Visitor Information Station and disruptive behavior while Thirty Meter Telescope opponents have been camped across the road.
Incidents mentioned in the log include feces smeared on the men’s bathroom wall, threats directed at observatory staff and TMT workers, removal of insulation underneath the building, “field dressing of animals” in the men’s restroom, use of outlets to charge phones and computers, and “stare downs” with employees.
The threats included protesters making slashing gestures across their throats and one person shouting “kill the haoles, kill the visitors.”
Some stargazing tours at the visitor center were disrupted or canceled due to protesters shouting, according to the report.
The log also notes that protesters helped defuse several incidents when someone became belligerent toward visitors and staff, and that they donated toilet paper.
“These reflect a very, very small number of people up there,” University of Hawaii spokesman Dan Meisenzahl said of the incidents. He added that the problems nonetheless created a “not very good work environment” for staff at the visitor center, which remains closed following the last time protesters stopped TMT construction crews June 24.
Meisenzahl said the log was released since the information was going to become public during a hearing today before state Board of Land and Natural Resources regarding proposed emergency rules that would restrict access on the mountain.
The Mauna Kea management office operates under UH-Hilo.
The report also mentions that the Hawaii Police Department on April 13 pulled a special off-duty officer hired by the management office off the mountain. HPD claimed it is against its “standing orders to get involved in a dispute where no laws are being broken,” the log says. In addition to semi-permanent tents, TMT opponents have built a hale and transported a canoe to the site.
The log ends on Tuesday when it notes that the protesters’ portable toilets had been removed and that they erected their largest tent yet near their hale.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
