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A federal grand jury in Maui this week handed down an indictment for a hate crime against two men who received probation for an allegedly racially motivated attack on a White man.
Prosecutors believe Kaulana Alo Kaonohi and Levi Aki Jr. attacked the man in 2014 incident to stop him from moving into a Native Hawaiian neighborhood, reports the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
“Violence perpetrated towards others on the basis of race is an intolerable form of conduct that we must combat as a law enforcement community and a Nation,” said U.S. Attorney Kenji Price to the Star Advertiser. “My office will do its part to protect the public by holding those who commit hate crimes accountable for their conduct.”
According to Maui News, both Aki and Alo Kaonohi received sentences of four years probation and credit for time served in a plea bargain for the attack.
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“My main concern is justice,” said Christopher Kunzelman, the victim in the case, said to Maui News. “Justice in this case is not probation. I was physically attacked using what I consider a deadly weapon.”
Kaonohi and Aki face a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment.
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