Employee who sent Hawaii's false missile alert not cooperating in FCC investigation

[Drumboy44]

The state worker who inadvertently sent the false missile alert to all Hawaii phones is not cooperating with federal or state investigators, authorities said Thursday.

"We are quite pleased with the level of cooperation we have received from the leadership of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency thus far," Lisa Fowlkes, chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau at the FCC, said Thursday at a Congressional hearing.

"We are disappointed, however, that one key employee — the person who transmitted the false alert — is refusing to cooperate with our investigation. We hope that person will reconsider."

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the state Department of Defense, which oversees the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, said the unidentified non-union employee is
also not cooperating with state investigators.

"He had provided a statement immediately after the incident," Lt. Col. Charles Anthony told Hawaii News Now. "But he has not provided any additional information since that time. Obviously, we're encouraging everyone to cooperate with all investigations."

Anthony also confirmed that while the worker has technically been reassigned from his previous duties, he has not reported to work at the state Emergency Operations Center at Diamond Head since Jan. 13, when the false missile alert was sent out.

The worker has been on sick leave, state Rep. Matt Lopresti confirmed who called Hawaii Emergency Management Agency administrator, Vern Miyagi, after learning of the news.

The revelations come as state and federal authorities continue to seek to re-create the sequence of events that led up to the false missile alert, which was sent to millions of residents and visitors in Hawaii and spurred fear and panic across the state.

It took 38 minutes for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to send another alert to inform the public that it was a false alarm.

In the wake of the alert, some called for the agency's administrator or the worker who sent the alert to resign — or be fired.

Lopresti, chairman of the House Veterans, Military, and International Affairs, and Culture and the Arts Committee, wasn't one of them. He has said state and federal investigations needed to play out before anyone was asked to leave.

But on Thursday, Lopresti said the state worker's refusal to cooperate with investigators should be grounds for termination.

"It's shocking. It's a citizen's duty to cooperate with investigations having to do with public safety," he said.

"When we find that someone is not cooperating with a federal investigation of public safety ... that's the end of it. It's basic insubordination of his own department, which is cooperating. He should get a pink slip by the end of the day."

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, declined to comment on the issue.

Miyagi and Governor Ige had previously expressed sympathy for the employee and coworkers -- pointing out they've received death threats.

http://m.hawaiinewsnow.com/hawaiinewsnow/db_330510/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=9MHG1giC

 

[LongliveRussia!]

I say it again, it wasn't a mistake or an accident!

 

[CreepyMonkey]

I say it again, it wasn't a mistake or an accident!

At the risk of sounding tin foil hattish, (and this is my totally unsubstantiated opinion) I agree with you. It makes sense as a test of public reaction but not as an ‘accident ‘.

 

[KimPossible]

I say it again, it wasn't a mistake or an accident!

At the risk of sounding tin foil hattish, (and this is my totally unsubstantiated opinion) I agree with you. It makes sense as a test of public reaction but not as an ‘accident ‘.

Then the Japanese "fake" missile alert there after basically. Then again will never know the true &/or full story, just like everything else.

 

[apollonights]

I say it again, it wasn't a mistake or an accident!

At the risk of sounding tin foil hattish, (and this is my totally unsubstantiated opinion) I agree with you. It makes sense as a test of public reaction but not as an ‘accident ‘.

Then the Japanese "fake" missile alert there after basically. Then again will never know the true &/or full story, just like everything else.

The Japanese one right after was what was really fishy for me.

 

[Roostah]

At the risk of sounding tin foil hattish, (and this is my totally unsubstantiated opinion) I agree with you. It makes sense as a test of public reaction but not as an ‘accident ‘.

Then the Japanese "fake" missile alert there after basically. Then again will never know the true &/or full story, just like everything else.

The Japanese one right after was what was really fishy for me.

His behavior suggests there is more to the story. It could also suggest that he's having a hard time with his mistake or that he's taking legal advice.

 

[LongliveRussia!]

I say it again, it wasn't a mistake or an accident!

At the risk of sounding tin foil hattish, (and this is my totally unsubstantiated opinion) I agree with you. It makes sense as a test of public reaction but not as an ‘accident ‘.

The one Button Story sounding tin foil hattish!

 

[RiffRaff]

I am not disagreeing with any of this, however, until we have more information, let's try to keep conspiracy speculation to a minimum, please.

 

[KimPossible]

I am not disagreeing with any of this, however, until we have more information, let's try to keep conspiracy speculation to a minimum, please.

Like I said,

Then again will never know the true &/or full story, just like everything else.

No point in speculation because we will never truly know what the slimy breeding cesspool of sleeze bags we call our government(s) do.

 

[BorisBadenov]

any speculation on the fact the system was hacked?

 

[rudemarine]

I am not disagreeing with any of this, however, until we have more information, let's try to keep conspiracy speculation to a minimum, please.

Im getting pretty tired of the mods here saying that but I can see why, then again we are being lied to every day by our own government and anyone as intelligent as us here would have to be living in Narnia to not see it.

What sucks is that they could have caused plenty of deaths just by pulling this stunt. From Heart failures to car accidents. The guy putting his little girl into a storm or sewer drain was crazy enough.

 

[RiffRaff]

I am not disagreeing with any of this, however, until we have more information, let's try to keep conspiracy speculation to a minimum, please.

Im getting pretty tired of the mods here saying that but I can see why, then again we are being lied to every day by our own government and anyone as intelligent as us here would have to be living in Narnia to not see it.

Yes, our government is lying to us, and has been for decades. That is not conspiracy theory; that is proven fact.

Is our government lying to us about this specific incident? Probably. Was there a grand conspiracy to use Hawaiian civilians as guinea pigs in a attempt to see how the typical US citizen would react to a real incoming missile alert? Doubtful, but possible. We'll never know for sure.

This website's TOS is pretty clear on the subject of posting conspiracy theories on the boards. We don't allow it because the purpose of this forum is to analyze factual evidence so we can issue informed statements to the public. So let's separate this incident into what we know and what we don't:

FACT: An incoming missile alert was issued by the State of Hawaii that specifically said "this is not a drill."
FACT: It took 38 minutes for a correction to be issued.
FACT: The official explanation for this incident is an employee "pressed the wrong button."
FACT: That employee is refusing to cooperate with investigators.
SPECULATION: There is more to this incident than just a terrible mistake made by one single person.
SPECULATION: The government is lying to the public about how and why the alert was issued.
CONSPIRACY THEORY: The government deliberately issued the warning as a test not of the system, but of the civilian population.
CONSPIRACY THEORY: There really were missiles inbound, so the alert was real, and it was only canceled after the missiles were intercepted or failed before impact.

Discussion of the facts is fine; that's what we do.
Discussion of speculation is okay as long as it is presented as speculation and not facts in evidence.
Discussion of conspiracy theories as either speculation or facts is not okay.

The public needs to trust reports and bulletins issued by this site, and if we allow the site to devolve into chaotic threads of conspiracy theories, that trust will be lost. So, yes, we are going to nip conspiracy theories in the bud early, before they get out of hand. There are thousands of sites dedicated to conspiracy theories. This isn't one of them. It really is that simple.

 

[Yingyang]

I am not disagreeing with any of this, however, until we have more information, let's try to keep conspiracy speculation to a minimum, please.

Im getting pretty tired of the mods here saying that but I can see why, then again we are being lied to every day by our own government and anyone as intelligent as us here would have to be living in Narnia to not see it.

Yes, our government is lying to us, and has been for decades. That is not conspiracy theory; that is proven fact.

Is our government lying to us about this specific incident? Probably. Was there a grand conspiracy to use Hawaiian civilians as guinea pigs in a attempt to see how the typical US citizen would react to a real incoming missile alert? Doubtful, but possible. We'll never know for sure.

This website's TOS is pretty clear on the subject of posting conspiracy theories on the boards. We don't allow it because the purpose of this forum is to analyze factual evidence so we can issue informed statements to the public. So let's separate this incident into what we know and what we don't:

FACT: An incoming missile alert was issued by the State of Hawaii that specifically said "this is not a drill."
FACT: It took 38 minutes for a correction to be issued.
FACT: The official explanation for this incident is an employee "pressed the wrong button."
FACT: That employee is refusing to cooperate with investigators.
SPECULATION: There is more to this incident than just a terrible mistake made by one single person.
SPECULATION: The government is lying to the public about how and why the alert was issued.
CONSPIRACY THEORY: The government deliberately issued the warning as a test not of the system, but of the civilian population.
CONSPIRACY THEORY: There really were missiles inbound, so the alert was real, and it was only canceled after the missiles were intercepted or failed before impact.

Discussion of the facts is fine; that's what we do.
Discussion of speculation is okay as long as it is presented as speculation and not facts in evidence.
Discussion of conspiracy theories as either speculation or facts is not okay.

The public needs to trust reports and bulletins issued by this site, and if we allow the site to devolve into chaotic threads of conspiracy theories, that trust will be lost. So, yes, we are going to nip conspiracy theories in the bud early, before they get out of hand. There are thousands of sites dedicated to conspiracy theories. This isn't one of them. It really is that simple.

Nice layout of fact,speculation and conspiracy theories. Well stated.