2 Arrested in Hawaii Near Giant Telescope Protest Site
Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2019 4:56 pm
FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2015, file photo, telescopes are viewed on Mauna Kea, the proposed construction site for a new $1.4 billion telescope.
HONOLULU - Police on Hawaii's Big Island have arrested two people as crews demolished a small house built by demonstrators near the place where they are blocking construction of a giant telescope.
Hawaii County Managing Director Wil Okabe says officers arrived at Mauna Kea on Friday morning to clear the way for crews to take down the structure. He did not have details about why the arrests happened.
Officials say protesters who oppose the planned telescope near Mauna Kea's summit constructed the wooden building in a lava field near their protest camp without a permit. Some Native Hawaiians consider the telescope site sacred.
The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands said this week that the building would be removed.