first_published_at,last_published_at,title,slug,latest_revision_created_at,charges,legal_orders,updates,categories,links,equipment_seized,equipment_broken,targeted_journalists,authors,date,exact_date_unknown,city,state,latitude,longitude,body,introduction,teaser,teaser_image,primary_video,image_caption,arrest_status,arresting_authority,release_date,detention_date,unnecessary_use_of_force,case_number,case_statuses,case_type,status_of_seized_equipment,is_search_warrant_obtained,actor,border_point,target_us_citizenship_status,denial_of_entry,stopped_previously,did_authorities_ask_for_device_access,did_authorities_ask_about_work,assailant,was_journalist_targeted,charged_under_espionage_act,subpoena_type,subpoena_statuses,name_of_business,third_party_business,legal_order_target,legal_order_type,legal_order_venue,status_of_prior_restraint,mistakenly_released_materials,type_of_denial,targeted_institutions,tags,target_nationality,workers_whose_communications_were_obtained,politicians_or_public_figures_involved 2022-12-12 22:07:28.870034+00:00,2024-02-29 15:13:19.592676+00:00,"Investigative reporter subpoenaed in lawsuit against Maui County, officer",https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/investigative-reporter-subpoenaed-in-lawsuit-against-maui-county-officer/,2024-02-29 15:13:19.484411+00:00,,"LegalOrder object (199), LegalOrder object (200)",(2023-01-20 14:27:00+00:00) Judge quashes subpoena of Hawaii investigative reporter,Subpoena/Legal Order,,,,Lynn Kawano (Hawaii News Now),,2022-10-13,False,Honolulu,Hawaii (HI),21.30694,-157.85833,"
Lynn Kawano, the chief investigative reporter for Hawaii News Now, was issued a subpoena on Oct. 13, 2022, seeking communications and testimony in connection with an ongoing lawsuit before the District Court of Hawaii in Honolulu.
Three women filed a lawsuit against a Maui Police Department officer and Maui County alleging the officer abused his position of power to coerce them into having sex with him, according to Honolulu Civil Beat. Kawano first reported on the allegations in August 2019.
According to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, the county sent a letter to Kawano’s attorneys that alleged that Kawano stepped outside of her role as a journalist and acted as an adviser to the women, suggesting they contact attorney Michael Green.
“It is clear that Ms. Kawano has not confined herself to news gathering, but has become an advisor to the plaintiffs,” the letter stated.
Neither Kawano nor Hawaii News Now responded to emailed requests for comment.
The county issued Kawano a subpoena for documents and testimony on Oct. 13, but did not serve her the court order until Oct. 25, according to court filings. The subpoena orders Kawano to produce her communications with Green and the three women, as well as any “attorney referral agreement or client referral agreement” between Kawano and Green or his law firm.
Bruce Voss, Kawano’s attorney, sent an objection letter to the county on Oct. 31 stating that in addition to not serving the subpoena with sufficient time before the deposition date of Nov. 1, that Kawano’s communications are protected by journalist’s privilege.
The county reissued the subpoena on Nov. 9, ordering Kawano to produce the same collection of documents and to appear for a deposition on Dec. 1. According to court documents, Voss filed a motion to quash the subpoena on Kawano’s behalf on Nov. 26.
“HNN can only surmise that the County of Maui is attempting to establish some nefarious plot (that does not exist) for the purposes of distracting from some very bad facts in this case,” the motion states. “Ms. Kawano, as a journalist, is not a discovery depot for the County of Maui.”
Voss declined to comment when reached by email, citing the pending motion to quash. A hearing on the motion has been scheduled for Jan. 5, 2023.
A portion of the subpoena issued to Hawaii News Now investigative reporter Lynn Kawano as part of an ongoing lawsuit three women brought against Maui County and a Maui police officer alleging coercion and sexual harassment.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,journalist communications or work product,['QUASHED'],None,None,Journalist,subpoena,Federal,None,False,[],,,,, 2022-08-11 19:29:51.547358+00:00,2022-08-12 14:31:29.094653+00:00,Family Court judge quashes subpoena issued to former Honolulu Civil Beat reporter,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/family-court-judge-quashes-subpoena-issued-to-former-honolulu-civil-beat-reporter/,2022-08-12 14:31:29.000906+00:00,,LegalOrder object (162),,Subpoena/Legal Order,,,,Kevin Knodell (Honolulu Civil Beat),,2021-11-17,False,Kapolei,Hawaii (HI),21.33555,-158.0582,"A Family Court judge in Kapolei, Hawaii, quashed a subpoena in 2022 that requested reporting notes, text messages and emails from former Honolulu Civil Beat reporter Kevin Knodell.
Knodell was issued the subpoena on Nov. 17, 2021, after publishing articles detailing Navy service member Jonathan Stremel’s claims that gender bias impacted a military investigation into child abuse allegations. Knodell extensively interviewed military officials, experts and Stremel’s wife’s lawyer, David Hayakawa, while investigating the claims.
According to Civil Beat, Stremel subpoenaed Knodell during his divorce case, and asked a judge to sanction Hayakawa for sharing full documents with Knodell, arguing the files were confidential.
A copy of the subpoena shows Stremel demanded a list of items, including published and unpublished documents, encrypted text messages between Knodell and his sources, and communications between Knodell and his editors.
Knodell, who now works for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he is glad the case is finally settled and he can move forward with his life and other reporting.
“From a precedent standpoint, I hope this can be cited in other cases where reporters are harassed or attempts to use them as witnesses in court proceedings are made,” Knodell said.
Civil Beat General Manager Patti Epler told the Tracker that even though Hawaii doesn’t have a shield law and Knodell is no longer on staff, it was still in the news outlet’s best interest to fight against the order.
“The subpoena did not name Civil Beat, but there was no indication that it wouldn’t, and it didn’t seem right not to defend someone who had done good work for us and had done the reporting in good faith,” Epler said.
In a “Behind the Story” article for Civil Beat about the subpoena, Epler wrote that Judge Elizabeth Paek-Harris quashed the subpoena and denied any sanctions against Hayakawa in a March 2022 hearing. Paek-Harris ruled that providing Knodell documents from the divorce case was not a violation of any court rule. The final order was issued in July.
Epler said Civil Beat would continue protecting its reporters from these legal orders.
“It's really on us to defend our staff and argue against any kind of intrusion whether it's from the government or elsewhere.”
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include comment from reporter Kevin Knodell.
A photographer for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser says that he was assaulted during a University of Hawaii football game on Nov. 23, 2019, resulting in injuries and damage to his camera.
USA Today reported that photographer Jamm Aquino was standing on the sidelines when Hawaii coaches and players rushed the field after the opposing team missed a field goal, sealing the university’s victory. Aquino followed the team onto the field to photograph the celebration.
According to the Star-Advertiser, seconds remained on the game clock and therefore the game was not officially over. It was while the team rushed back off the field to avoid a penalty that Aquino says Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich charged at him while swearing and “made contact” with him. The outlet also reported that an Associated Press photographer next to Aquino was shoved.
Aquino told the Star-Advertiser that an unnamed university employee then shoved him to the ground, leaving him with a concussion and various other injuries and damaging his camera lens.
As Rolovich made his way off the field at the end of the game, he saw Aquino, pointed in his direction and again began swearing at him.
Star-Advertiser editor Frank Bridgewater said in the article, “Our photographers are representing our readers and deserve to be treated as professionals.”
“Swearing at and, worse, physically assaulting them, will not be tolerated,” Bridgewater said. “We will take whatever steps are needed to protect our photographers’ rights and to ensure that those who abuse them are called out.”
The university said in a statement that Aquino violated sideline protocol and that Rolovich came into contact with Aquino while attempting to clear the field.
“Coach Rolovich regrets the situation occurred. He contacted the photographer late Saturday night and apologized,” the university said.
Aquino did not respond to request for comment by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
University of Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich charges the camera of Honolulu Star-Advertiser photographer Jamm Aquino during a football game. Aquino says Rolovich and another university employee assaulted him, causing injuries and equipment damage.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,public figure,None,None,False,False,None,None,public figure,yes,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,,,, 2019-05-23 17:56:08.310173+00:00,2024-02-29 18:55:34.527257+00:00,Hawaii reporter denied access to cover Army meeting,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/hawaii-reporter-denied-access-cover-army-meeting/,2024-02-29 18:55:34.438651+00:00,,,,Denial of Access,,,,Nancy Cook Lauer (West Hawaii Today),,2019-05-16,False,Hilo,Hawaii (HI),19.72991,-155.09073,"West Hawaii Today county and government reporter Nancy Cook Lauer was barred from attending a U.S. Army meeting that the newspaper contends was opened to the general public in Hilo, Hawaii, on May 16, 2019.
Lauer was attempting to cover a meeting that outlined the Army’s resource management plants at Pohakuloa Training Area and the Kawaihae Military Reservation outside an Aupuni Center meeting room.
Lauer wrote in a West Hawaii Today article that she was told “the participating parties might not feel comfortable expressing their opinions in the presence of the media,” and that the meeting was not a media event, despite the public being allowed to attend. She told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she pushed back, and asked for a citation of the legal authority that would allow the public to attend a meeting, but not the press.
“[The event] was originally set for those who had signed up as consulting parties to the process, but then members of the public insisted they be allowed in and I went in as well,” Lauer told the Tracker.
Pohakuloa Training Area Public Affairs Officer Mike Donnelly said that the event was not open to the public, and that some consulting parties and signatories to a training programmatic agreement that were present did not want the meeting recorded. However, he said that “to avoid conflict and to show good faith,” the meeting was opened to non-consulting attendees to fill open seats.
“Notably, only one journalist showed for the meeting in Hilo,” wrote Donnelly. “As a result, we did state that it was not open to the public, however, as a concession and out of respect for the journalist and 20+ years of working with media, I requested the reporter and our subject matter expert to move into a separate room where they could talk and have a Q & A session so the reporter gathered content and context for her story.”
Lauer said that any time she spent with an official focused on gaining access to the meeting rather than on gathering information for reporting.
“If it were an interview for a story, I would have asked them about the details of the project, not about the meeting,” she said.
Lauer said that she left after being told by both Donnelly and a cultural resource manager for U.S. Army Garrison Pohakuloa that she could not remain.
West Hawaii Today reported that an activist who attended the meeting said that attendance was initially to be limited to a list of consulting parties, but was later opened to the public altogether — before Lauer was told to leave.
Lauer told the Tracker that on the Monday following the incident the Army commander called her to apologize and claimed he was not aware that his staff had taken the action to ban her from the event. She said that the commander was present at the meeting, near the front of the room.
“In retrospect, the PTA Team could have certainly done things differently, however, we were following the established process and respecting those who are consulting parties and signatories,” wrote Donnelly, the public affairs officer. “We will continue to engage the media in an open and transparent manner.”
Although Lauer was not able to attend the meeting, she said she was later given video footage by one of the attendees, which she said could aid future reporting.
On May 19, West Hawaii Today published an opinion piece arguing that the Army was wrong to boot its reporter from the event. It expressed concern about how extreme press freedom violations — such as those by President Trump — can seep into the conscious of everyday people.
“Some of it, like booting the media from a public gathering, we cannot write off as simply silly,” the piece reads. “Kicking a reporter out of a public meeting is a serious issue. It cannot become the norm. The United States military is a first-rate operation. If it says it wanted to err on the side of privacy and caution, we can take that at face value this time around, but still disagree with its decision. The information inside that meeting is meant for the public and WHT will get it and share it, regardless.”
Lauer said this was the first time she had been denied access to an event open to the public.
“As a reporter with more than 25 years of experience, I am accustomed to various barriers being thrown up as I go about my job informing the public,” she told the Tracker. “This is the first time, however, I have been ousted from a meeting otherwise open to the public. It's sad that I, who have worked diligently to portray all sides and prevent bias in my coverage, now have to rely on a video from a source with a known point of view in order to write about government actions that our readers deserve to know about. The media is not the enemy.”