Three more protesters arrested at Army's Stryker meeting
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
Three more people were arrested last night — Hawaiian sovereignty activist Kekuni Blaisdell among them — at a second raucous confrontation between opponents of the Army's planned Stryker brigade and security guards hired by the Army.
"This is my crime: I'm kanaka," said Blaisdell, tracing his fingers over the words "kanaka maoli" (indigenous Hawaiian) on his T-shirt.
But Blaisdell also tested a security guard by placing his hands against the man's chest.
Army officials said they want to accommodate all interested parties at the public comment meetings — including protesters — and are working with the community to see if common ground can be found.
The latest arrests at Helemano Plantation added to a free-speech legal argument shaping up over a similar protest Tuesday night resulting in four protesters being charged with trespass at the private Honolulu Country Club.
Two more meetings are planned on O'ahu, including one tonight at Makaha Resort Golf Club.
The arrests were made after protesters at the public comment meetings for the Stryker plan refused to leave behind signs and banners critical of the $1.5 billion fast-strike brigade and the U.S. military in Hawai'i.
Protesters said the signs were part of their testimony for the Stryker draft environmental impact statement.
Army officials said the signs would have been a disruption at the meetings.
Security guards with Royal Guard Security Inc,. hired by the Army for both meetings, prevented protesters with placards from entering.
The American Civil Liberties Union-Hawai'i said First Amendment law is on the side of the sign holders.
"Signs are speech," said ACLU interim legal director Susan Dorsey. "There's a high degree of public interest in this case, and public involvement is necessary to contribute comments to any kind of draft EIS. So to then deny those public comments because they are in contravention of your own, is unconstitutional."
Wayson Chow, the attorney for the first four arrested, said his clients will plead not guilty tomorrow in District Court to the petty misdemeanor trespass charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Chow said when the Army used the private Honolulu Country Club for the public meeting, those attending had a constitutional right to express their free-speech rights — including having signs.
The Army, meanwhile, displayed signs of its own at the meetings, including pictures of the Stryker armored vehicle, unmanned aerial vehicles that would be part of the brigade, and charts, diagrams and handouts.
"If you're having the Army promote its viewpoint, the contrary viewpoint certainly would be appropriate at a public hearing," Chow said.
The Army said it was reviewing whether to prohibit the signs at future draft EIS public comment meetings. "There's some discussion concerning that, but I don't think a decision has been made yet," said Troy Griffin, deputy public affairs officer for the 25th Infantry Division (Light).
A Stryker Brigade Combat Team would be made up of about 300 armored vehicles that would train on O'ahu and the Big Island.
Following four O'ahu meetings, two meetings will be held on the Big Island.
A group of about 20 to 25 protesters, most carrying signs or wearing white T-shirts with slogans critical of the Stryker plan penned onto them, were stopped at an entrance to the Helemano Plantation meeting room by several burly Royal Guard security personnel. Robert Schmidt, chief of operations for Royal Guard, told the group they had to leave the signs outside the meeting area.
"You are refusing testimony," said one protester who did not want to be identified.
"You are welcome to come in, but you have to leave your signs outside," Schmidt told the group.
"This is not democracy," the group chanted.
Blaisdell, another man and Terri Keko'olani Raymond, a member of Ohana Koa/Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific, eventually were arrested and taken to the Wahiawa station. They were all released on $250 bail.
More than 15 Honolulu police officers arrived after the group became more vocal, and Sgt. Henry Holcombe said charges would include trespass and possibly harassment for "shoving" the security guards.
"We really want public comment," Griffin said later. "We've gone out of our way to engage the community using the media, using advertising and using one-on-one engagements with neighborhood boards to inform the communities this is happening."
The Army also said the "overwhelming silent majority" of Hawai'i supports the Stryker brigade, and a "handful" of protesters do not represent the mainstream opinion.
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
