Democratic congressional candidate Kirill Basin faces felony terroristic threatening charges in connection with a confrontation at Keawakapu Beach on Maui that ended with him being knocked unconscious. The Aug. 1 incident is the latest in a series of legal challenges for the 40-year-old candidate.
Video footage shows an argument over music that escalated when Basin allegedly shoved Kama Homan and swung a beach chair at him. Homan then pushed the chair away, striking Basin and knocking him unconscious. According to a criminal complaint, Basin later threatened Homan with a knife. During a court hearing, a judge maintained Basin's $1 million bail and ordered him not to contact Homan or four other individuals. He is also barred from Keawakapu Beach and its parking lot.
This beach incident is not Basin's first encounter with the criminal justice system this year. Four days after the beach confrontation, prosecutors sought to revoke Basin's bail in a separate case accusing him of assaulting a nurse at Maui Memorial Medical Center.
Prosecutors stated that during the beach incident, Basin threatened beachgoers with phrases such as "I'll put you in the ground" and "I'll kill you." He then allegedly reached into a bag, implying he had a gun, and said, "Do I have a gun? I'll kill you," before brandishing a knife as a beachgoer attempted to de-escalate the situation.
Basin's legal troubles began earlier this year. On May 2, police arrested him on a disorderly conduct charge. Later that month, a Maui grand jury indicted him on two counts of first-degree terroristic threatening for an encounter on May 29 with a County of Maui employee. Prosecutors alleged Basin pulled a handgun from a backpack and made threats, with two other county employees present who reportedly felt threatened for their lives. Basin's attorneys dispute this account, stating that police reports and surveillance footage showed Basin briefly displayed a pellet gun, did not point it at anyone, and suggested witnesses call the police.
Within two weeks of the county employee incident, Basin faced a second felony case stemming from an alleged encounter at Maui Memorial Medical Center. He was charged with second-degree assault and two counts of harassment. Prosecutors reported that Basin became aggressive while being evaluated in the hospital's behavioral-health unit and attempted to leave the emergency room. When nurses attempted to restrain him, Basin allegedly kicked one of them.
Basin pleaded not guilty to these charges. On July 20, he was granted permission to leave Hawaii for inpatient treatment in Arizona, subject to conditions including surrendering his passport, adhering to a court-approved itinerary, and participating in hearings remotely. By July 27, he was reportedly in the Maui Recovery program in Lahaina. Following the Aug. 1 beach arrest, a $400,000 bench warrant was issued in the hospital assault case as prosecutors pushed to revoke his bail.