The Hawaii Legislature learned Monday that the state Capitol is not under threat of a possible mass shooting.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported over the weekend that the FBI had issued an alert tied to a post on social media inviting people to a “mass shooting” at the Hawaii state Capitol.

Reporter Kevin Dayton wrote, “The threat was posted Friday at the bottom of video of Gov. David Ige’s press conference in which the governor urged both sides in the dispute over the Thirty Meter Telescope to halt all threats and hate speech in the dispute over the months-long protests on Mauna Kea.”

Capitol King Street Mauka Side.
The Capitol: in the clear. Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2019

As Civil Beat reported Friday, Ige said at the press conference that he and other state officials have been targets of death threats.

According to a memo circulated in the state Senate Monday, however, the shooting threat is not real.

“The Office of Sheriff has informed us that (the Honolulu Police Department) located George Sopi, whom HPD has confirmed was the author of the social media post asserting a threat at the state Capitol this past weekend,” the memo explains. “Mr. Sopi is currently in Arizona and HPD confirms that he is not a threat and they have closed their case.”

The memo, authored by Harrison K. Kawate of the Office of Senate President Ronald D. Kouchi, adds, “The sheriff’s office further asserts that based upon their information and belief, that there is no threat to the Capitol or its occupants and/or its operations and there were no incidents of anything unusual throughout this weekend at the Capitol.”

Still, plans are in the works for additional personnel staffing at the Capitol in light of the Senate’s pending special judicial confirmation session beginning this week.

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