Hawaii hate crime trial begins for beating of white man

Published November 8, 2022 5:54 PM

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — A trial is underway for two Native Hawaiian men charged with a hate crime in the 2014 beating of a white man who bought a house in their remote village on Maui. Attorneys for Kaulana Alo-Kaonohi and Levi AkiJr. don’t dispute the assault but say it wasn’t a hate crime. Prosecutors say Alo-Kaonohi punched and kicked Christopher Kunzelman and Aki hit him with a shovel when Kunzelman tried to fix up the oceanfront house he purchased in Kahakuloa village. Attorneys for the men say they were motivated by Kunzelman’s attitude not by his race.

Article Topic Follows: AP National News

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