2 Hawaiian men sentenced to prison for hate-crime beating of white man

Two native Hawaiian men were sentenced to prison terms for a federal hate crime in the brutal beating of a white man who was trying to move into their remote Maui village.

A jury in November found that Kaulana Alo-Kaonohi and Levi Aki Jr. attacked Christopher Kunzelman because of his race — punching, kicking and beating him with a shovel in 2014, when he tried to move into their neighborhood of Kahakuloa.

Alo-Kaonohi, 33, was sentenced to 78 months; Aki, 33, was sentenced to 50 months, the Justice Department said.

“The defendants in this case nearly killed a man because they believed he did not belong in their neighborhood because of the color of his skin,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“The law protects everyone in this country from racially motivated violence, and these sentences send a strong message that such violence will not be tolerated.”  

Local lawyers believe it’s the first time the US has prosecuted native Hawaiians for hate crimes. The case has highlighted the struggle between native Hawaiians looking to preserve their culture and newcomers to Hawaii who are unaware of its history and racial dynamics.

Lawyers for the two men deny the attack was racially fueled, but because of the victim’s entitlement and disrespectful attitude.

Kunzelman’s wife Lori said the couple loved Maui, and that her husband had purchased a home sight unseen for $175,000 to repair after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

When he began working on the house, he was harassed and threatened by locals who claimed things like: “This is a Hawaiian village. The only thing coming from the outside is the electricity,” and “You don’t even belong in Hawaii,” according to evidence presented during the trial.

“It was obviously a hate crime from the very beginning,” she said. “The whole time they’re saying things like, ‘You have the wrong skin color. No ‘haole’ is ever going to live in our neighborhood.’”

“Haole” is a Hawaiian word with a complicated history. Its meanings include foreigner and white person. According to Judy Rohrer, the author of “Haoles in Hawai’i,” when someone is “acting haole” they are acting out of entitlement and like they “own the place.”

Video from cameras on Kunzelman’s vehicle shows Aki saying “You’s a haole, eh,” which Kunzelman testified was said in a derogatory way.

“When you watch the video … there was almost like enthusiasm,” said US District Judge J. Michael Seabright. “Maybe that’s what’s so disturbing about this case.”

The two men took Kunzelman’s phone, which recorded the attack, and tossed it into the ocean. After the assault, Aki referred to Kunzelman to police as a “rich Haole guy,” a “dumb haole” and a “typical haole thinking he owning everything … trying to change things up in Kahakuola,” according to prosecutors.

The men were upset after Kunzelman cut locks to village gates, their lawyers said. Kunzelman said he did so because residents continuously locked him in and out while he was fixing his new home. He testified that he wanted to provide the village with better locks and distribute keys to residents.

“The hate crime messed me up,” Kunzelman said in court Thursday.

In a letter to the judge, Aki said he doesn’t see himself as racist: “Not only because I am almost half-Caucasian but also because I have people who I love and care about who are white.” He added that he’s ashamed of his immature and hurtful works and actions.

Alo-Kaonohi also apologized in court, saying, “I’m sorry for putting my hands on Christopher Kunzelman.”

With Post wires