Maui police detective asks AG if he is liable  for war crimes by enforcing American laws  

Attorney General Anne Lopez has received a 10-page letter, with attachments, from Edward Halealoha Ayau who is the attorney representing Maui Police Detective Kamuela Lanakila Mawae. That letter addresses legal concerns regarding the status of Hawaiʻi as an occupied State and potential war crimes being committed by law enforcement officers, according to a news release from Ayau.  

In 2022, Mawae and Patrolman Scott McCalister requested legal services regarding Hawaiʻi’s political status. They sought assurance that enforcing US laws does not violate international law. On behalf of Mawae and McCalister, Chief John Pelletier formally requested legal services from Maui’s Corporation Counsel. Ayau called the response “evasive” and said “did not address what was asked.”

In 2024, a letter from Mawae and 36 other retired and active police officers urged Major General Kenneth Hara to establish a military government in Hawaiʻi.  They expressed concern over the lack of transition to military governance, which could implicate officers in unlawful actions.

In that letter they stated, “It is deeply troubling that the State of Hawaiʻi has not been transitioned into a military government as mandated by international law. This failure of transition places current police officers on duty that they may be held accountable for unlawfully enforcing American laws. This very issue was brought to the attention of the Maui County Corporation Counsel by Maui Police Chief John Pelletier in 2022.”

Ayau’s letter referred to former Sen. Cross Makani Crabbe’s request to the Attorney General dated Sept. 19, 2024, for a legal opinion on Hawaiʻi’s status, emphasizing the need for clarity on its legality.  Crabbe made the request because of his concern that he and other members of the Legislature were committing war crimes by enacting American laws. Crabbe stated in his request, “As a senator that represents the 22nd district, I am very concerned by these allegations that the State of Hawaiʻi, as a governing body, is not legal because the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as an occupied State under international law.” The Attorney General has not responded, which Ayau stated is now at eight months since the initial request.  

Ayau’s letter references legal opinions from scholars asserting the Hawaiian Kingdom’s continued existence under international law.  It highlights the absence of a treaty ceding Hawaiian sovereignty to the United States, questioning the legitimacy of US claims to sovereignty over Hawaiʻi and the impact it has on all law enforcement officers of the State of Hawaiʻi and the four counties.

Ayau cites expert and scholar, Professor William Schabas from Middlesex University London, who authored a legal opinion for the Royal Commission of Inquiry identifying war crimes being committed since Jan. 17, 1893. One of those war crimes is the unlawful imposition of American laws and administrative measures within the territory of an occupied State, which is called the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation. 

In the letter, Ayau stated, “on behalf of my client, I am respectfully submitting to you a deadline  by June 11, 2025, for you to make public the legal opinion, as formally requested by former  Sen. Crabbe, that clearly states, by citing sources of international law,  i.e.  treaties, custom,  general principles of law, and judicial decisions and scholarly writings, that the State of Hawaiʻi  is within the territory of the United States and not within the territory of the Kingdom.” He also  stated that if “you do not make public your legal opinion by this day, my client will be forced to  comply with the law of occupation.”

“In 1893, a political crime was committed by the United States against the Hawaiian Kingdom,”  said Ayau, “and this led to the American theft of a country that was internationally recognized  worldwide.” He then stated, “we are repatriating our country according to the rules of  international law so that this American occupation will come to an end.”