This Brutal Maui Assault Prompts Hate Crime Charges — 7 Years Later…It’s the first Hawaii hate crime case brought by the feds in 20 years, but U.S. Attorney Kenji Price is hoping to send a strong message about victimizing others because of their race or color.
In 2013, Chris Kunzelman and his wife bought a house in Maui’s remote Kahakuloa village despite being warned that neighborhood residents “do not like white people.”
Every time a non-Native Hawaiian had tried to view the house, Hawaiian residents from the deeply rooted village of approximately 150 people harassed and threatened them, scaring other potential buyers of the foreclosed property away, according to court documents.
But for Kunzelman, who wanted to help his sick wife realize her dream to live in Hawaii, the opportunity to own a four-bedroom fixer-upper on the bay for $171,000 couldn’t be beat. The couple bought it sight unseen.
