Hawaii COVID-19 incident commander says ‘rioting’ a possibility if economy falters

Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, “incident commander” of Hawaii’s new coronavirus response warned the House Select Committee on COVID-19 today about the possibility of rioting if “we let the economy go the way it’s going.”

“At some point we need to accept risks,” Hara told his fellow members of the committee. “We’ve got to accept the fact that people will become infected” and push Hawaii’s health care system “without exceeding the ICU and ventilator capacity.”

By continuing to restrict Hawaii’s economy, Hara said:

“If we let the economy go the way it’s going, I feel there will be significant civil unrest that could lead to civil disobedience and, worst case, civil disturbance and rioting.”