Department of Natural Resources enforcement officers dismantled a makeshift campsite near the Maunalua Bay Launch Ramp erected by a 56-year-old man claiming to be exempt from state law because of royal Samoan lineage.


What You Need To Know

  • The campsite had become a prominent fixture at the site, with visitors stopping to take photos

  • DLNR officers issued Saute Sapolu a warning about the structure last week

  • Sapolu argued with the officers and loudly asserted his supposed royal heritage

  • Officers cited Sapolu for having an illegal structure and storing personal belongings on state land and removed the structure

The campsite, which included a hut, a small fishpond, plantings and ceremonial offerings, had become a prominent fixture at the site, with visitors stopping to take photos.

DLNR’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation notified Saute Sapolu last week that he was violating the law by erecting and living in the structure.

On Thursday, DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement and DOBOR personnel returned to the site and found Sapolu and his sister sitting on a strip of sand alongside the parking lot.

After a verbal confrontation in which Sapolu argued with the officers and loudly asserted his supposed royal heritage, the officers cited Sapolu for having an illegal structure and storing personal belongings on state land. They then removed the structure and other materials, which will be stored for up to 30 days pending Sapolu reclaiming them.

Sapolu is scheduled to appear in Honolulu District Court on July 7.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii.