Illegal ‘Trump 2021’ banner removed from side of Diamond Head

A handpainted, canvas banner bearing the message “Trump 2021” in crude block letters was removed from the outer slopes of Diamond Head Crater Friday morning by a state Department of Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources (DOCARE) officer, the department said in a press release.

Area residents had contacted the Honolulu Star-Advertiser to report the letters they had spotted, complaining it defaced the otherwise sign- and graffiti-free slopes of the natural state monument.

After learning of the letters Thursday, and with the help of photos sent by residents, officers from DOCARE and DLNR’s Division of State Parks located the offending banner.

DOCARE Officer Edward Thompson first scoped out the banner from just off Monsarrat Avenue, then hiked along the rim of the crater before dropping over the edge to search for it.

“Whomever put this “Trump 2021” banner up went to a lot of trouble and they could have gotten into trouble,” Thompson said in the statement, which noted that hiking on the rim the Diamond Head State Monument, or anywhere off designated trails, is prohibited.

“Had we caught them they could have been cited for entering a closed area as well as possibly for defacing public property,” Thompson added.

Screws and hooks had been used to attach the banner to rocks and trees about 50-feet from the crater rim and on a very steep slope.

Residents reported first seeing the banner in mid-June, and by the time Thompson retrieved it, it was furled and weather worn.

“No matter your political leanings, putting banners and signs up on public property is not acceptable or lawful,” said DLNR Division of State Parks Administrator Curt Cottrell in the statement.

“There’s a time and place for everything and certainly given the natural and cultural importance of Lēʻahi, it is definitely not the place for making political statements or putting up signs.”