The O’Keefe Media Group has filed a lawsuit against Hawaii’s Democratic Gov. Josh Green and the County of Maui following an incident where the group’s founder, James O’Keefe, was threatened with arrest while attempting to capture hidden camera footage of the aftermath of devastating wildfires that ravaged the region.
The confrontation, captured on hidden camera, unfolded during the group’s recent investigation into the disaster.
A video posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, revealed a montage of police officers secretly recorded, making threats against O’Keefe and his team, citing the governor’s emergency order in response to the tragedy as grounds for prohibiting photography and video recording on public land.
In the video, one police officer from Lahaina informed O’Keefe that they were not allowed to take photos and park in a specific spot known as Lahaina Bypass “for safety.”
O’Keefe himself said, “I film with the button camera, my colleague with a camera in the brim of the phone. He did not know that we’re recording, but he did inform me that if I was to record past this street, then I would be arrested.”
WARNING: The following social media post contains language some may find offensive.
O’KEEFE