The Lahui Foundation is scheduled to host a Kia‘i Expungement Clinic today at the Kahuku Community Center in an effort to help expunge the arrest records of nonviolent protesters.
Kia‘i, or “protectors,” who participated in protests against telescopes on Mauna Kea and Haleakala, or the Kahuku wind turbines, will be provided with attorneys to help them navigate the expungement process, said Melissa Ka‘onohi-Camit, director of the Lahui Foundation.
The goal of the clinic is to show appreciation for those who sacrificed while “protecting sacred spaces throughout the islands,” Ka‘onohi-Camit said.
“People shouldn’t get penalized for practicing their First Amendment rights to free speech,” said Sergio Alcubilla, co-executive director of the Hawaii Worker Center. “It shouldn’t be a hindrance for the rest of their lives to be actively engaged in making our community better.”
The Hawaii Worker Center is among a handful of organizations that have volunteered to assist at the clinic, pro bono.
Many who nonviolently protest make the decision to stand their ground to the point of arrest, Ka‘onohi- Camit said. When police begin preparing to remove them from a site, protesters usually already have an idea of who will be arrested.
Nonviolently protesting to the point of arrest demonstrates these people’s commitment to standing up to injustices, despite the sacrifice of having it go on one’s record, Ka‘onohi said.
“That they get this on their record, it’s like they’re criminals when they’re not,” she said. “It shows that they are people that are not afraid to speak up on behalf of their communities and their families and their loved ones.”
Once an arrest goes on one’s record, it remains permanently visible on public databases unless it is expunged and sealed, particularly hindering those who might need to look for a job, Alcubilla said. Many don’t understand the steps they can take to expunge public records, he added.
“The process, to do it yourself, can be a little bit daunting. A lot of people just ignore it, or they don’t go through with it or they don’t really know what to do,” Alcubilla said. “That’s where this clinic is a really big help for them.”
There are about 50 people registered to attend today’s clinic, which was postponed in February due to weather, Ka‘onohi-Camit said. There will be live music and light fare while attorneys help fill out paperwork to begin the expungement process.
Although registration for the event has closed, those who haven’t registered will be helped on a first-come, first-served basis, Ka‘onohi- Camit said. Families of arrestees also are welcome to the event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“We’re trying to create an environment where it isn’t just you come and you sit down, you meet with attorneys and you fill out forms,” Ka‘onohi-Camit said. “It’s that we appreciate you, your time, the efforts and the sacrifices that were made when you get arrested for these types of things.”
Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
