Maui Indivisible to host ‘No Dictators’ protest Saturday

The local advocacy group Maui Indivisible announced it will participate in a nationwide demonstration this Saturday to protest the deployment of federal and military forces in US cities. Scheduled for 4:30 to 6 p.m., the event will be held in solidarity with thousands of Indivisible chapters across the country.

The national action is referred to as the second “No Kings” protest, which Maui Indivisible notes is being called “No Dictators” in Hawaiʻi. This local naming, according to a press release from the organization, is “in deference to the sovereign Hawaiian monarchy overthrown in an illegal coup dʻétat by American businessmen and the US military in 1893.”

Call for action from governor and mayor

The news release states that the nationwide protests are calling for “an immediate stop to President Trump’s unauthorized and unnecessary military occupation of American cities.”

On Maui, the protest will highlight a currently circulating Maui Indivisible petition urging two local officials to take action:

• Governor Josh Green is being asked to join “fellow Democratic Governors in signing a joint statement issued on August 28,” which demanded the Trump Administration “stop deploying the National Guard without the consent of a state’s Governor.”
• The press release quotes the 19 Democratic governors who signed the original statement as saying, “the President’s threats and efforts to deploy a state’s National Guard without the request and consent of that state’s governor is an alarming abuse of power, ineffective, and undermines the mission of our service members . . .This chaotic federal interference in our states’ National Guard must come to an end.”
• Mayor Richard Bissen is being asked to join “Mayors across the nation who signed a letter recently urging President Trump to withdraw forces, and to agree to no further unilateral deployment of federal forces to American cities.”

Gov. Green has said: “The Hawai‘i National Guard is under my direct command as Governor, and I will always ensure their service is used responsibly to protect our people — never politicized.”

County spokesperson Laksmi Abraham said: “Mayor Bissen supports the Governor’s intent to ensure that the Hawaiʻi National Guard remains under state leadership and direction. The County of Maui continues to prioritize the safety, rights, and well-being of our residents while working in partnership with state and federal agencies in accordance with their respective authorities.”

Concerns over federal presence and policy

The Maui Indivisible press release asserts that President Trump’s “war from within” has “reached Maui.” The group says the Maui Police Department is “seeking to contract with Trump’s FBI Terrorism Force, now ordered to stifle peaceful dissent and speech.” It also alleges that Homeland Security “continues to sweep and terrorize Maui communities,” citing an incident where personnel allegedly “pound[ed] on doors without a judicial warrant in vulnerable Lahaina fire recovery housing at Ka La’i Ola.”

Marnie Masuda, lead for Maui Indivisible, is quoted in the release as expressing concern for local residents.

“Many Maui residents, such as displaced fire survivors and college students, are living in cities that are being overtaken by federal forces without the authorization of those cities’ Mayors,” Masuda said, adding that “Counties and states just can’t stand up to Trump’s ultimatums individually. They have to unite and speak up – which is what our petition asks from our Governor and Mayor.”

Masuda also is quoted as stating that “Trump is having ‘Blue’ governments compete against each other for federal funds in the midst of ruthless budget cuts.” Additionally, the statement raises alarm that rights are “eroding under the new definition of domestic terrorism, which now includes anybody who does not accept this administration’s views on religion, family and free speech.”

Protest details

The event is slated to take place in front of the Queen Ka’ahumanu Center.

According to Maui Indivisible, the protest “will be peaceful and family friendly, like all Maui Indivisible protests.” The organization expects the event will include “music and dancing, with protesters sending a unified message that our community believes in Democracy and Constitutional Rights.”

The press release concludes: “We have every expectation that our local police and our elected leaders will display the courage necessary to protect Hawai’i and Maui County from military occupation and impending authoritarianism.”