A Democratic congressional candidate in Hawaii was arrested Friday after authorities said he entered a government building and allegedly threatened county employees with a firearm, according to police.
Kirill Basin, 40, a candidate seeking to represent Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District, was taken into custody hours after the incident and charged with first-degree terroristic threatening. Police indicated that additional charges could be filed as investigators continue reviewing the case.
Authorities said the incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. at a government facility in Maui County. Investigators allege Basin threatened two county employees before leaving the building. Police later located and arrested him without incident.
Officials have not publicly identified the employees involved, nor have they released detailed information regarding what led to the confrontation.
The arrest followed a series of increasingly public disputes involving Basin in recent weeks.
Just two days before the incident, Basin was removed from a South Maui town hall meeting after allegedly becoming involved in a heated confrontation with Maui County Councilmember Tom Cook and members of his staff.
According to reports, the confrontation continued after the meeting ended. Cook’s executive assistant, Jared Agtunong, later alleged that Basin approached him in the parking lot following the event, requiring police intervention.
Agtunong subsequently filed a petition seeking a restraining order against Basin.
In court filings, Agtunong alleged that Basin sent him a series of hostile and cryptic text messages in the days leading up to the confrontation.
According to the filing, Basin allegedly called him repeatedly and sent messages after receiving no response.
The messages reportedly included statements such as “You’re f***ed,” “I should think of my family,” and references to prison.
The restraining order request was filed Friday afternoon, roughly two hours after Basin’s arrest. A judge later granted a temporary restraining order.
Friday’s arrest was not Basin’s first recent encounter with law enforcement.
Court records show he was arrested on May 2 on a disorderly conduct charge.
On Thursday, one day before his latest arrest, Basin filed a lawsuit against Maui County and Maui Police Chief John Pelletier concerning that earlier incident.
In the lawsuit, which he filed without an attorney, Basin alleged that officers subjected him to what he described as physical, psychological and sexual abuse during his detention, per the Daily Mail.
He publicly promoted the lawsuit on social media, writing that police officers had “tortured” him during a 14-hour detention.
Maui Police Chief John Pelletier praised officers following Friday’s arrest and emphasized the department’s commitment to public safety.
“The Maui Police Department will not compromise public safety, and incidents of this nature are taken extremely seriously in Maui County,” Pelletier said in a statement.
