‘Cult’ booted from Hawaii island following protests over cultural appropriation
Police in Maui, Hawaii, have intercepted a Colorado-based “cult” at the island’s airport, redirecting them out of the state.
On Monday, the Maui Police Department (MPD) received notification that the “Love has Won Cult” was travelling from Kauai to Maui, the department said in a statement.
Police said that three members of the group were on route to the island after staying in a rented house in Kauai for a month and were due to arrive at Kahului Airport.
MPD said that during the groups stay in Kauai, “several protests, vandalism and small fires had been reported” and that the group decided to leave for their safety after the protests escalated.
“As a result, Law Enforcement intervened to ensure the safety of the group,” they said.
Protesters have said that they take issue with the group’s ideology and find it “offensive in its appropriation of Hawaiian culture”, according to a report by The Garden Island.
Upon the members arrival at Maui airport, screeners discovered the group had made reservations at a non-approved location, and they were intercepted. Police said they discovered that eleven more group members were traveling on to Maui to meet with the initial group.
One of the group members reportedly said that there had been a “big misunderstanding” and that it was in the group’s “best interest” to return to the mainland, and all fourteen group members voluntarily returned to Colorado.
Jessica Lani Rich, president of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, said that Love Has Won was not redirected for violating coronavirus quarantine restrictions, unlike another cult that recently visited the state, who were arrested and fined.
“During Covid-19, sending two different cults back to the mainland certainly shows that these are unusual cases that the state of Hawaii is getting during these difficult times,” she said, according to The Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
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