The actions of authorities on Maui have raised doubts about the handling of the Lahaina fire, which killed more than 100 people and left nearly 1,000 missing, including many children.
In a shocking development, a leaked letter revealed that Maui County officials have ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to monitor and enforce a media blackout on the distribution of images and videos related to the recent Maui wildfire disaster. instructed.
The decision has sparked controversy and raised questions about transparency and the public’s right to information during the crisis.
A person who wished to remain anonymous shared an email from FEMA with Informed Daily host Anthony Cabasa on YouTube. The email was sent to a non-profit organization that is going to Maui to aid in disaster relief efforts.
The content of the email is directed at those on the ground, urging them to immediately stop posting any images or videos of the disaster. Justin Angel Knighton, director of the Office of Foreign Affairs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, wrote the email.
Email reads:
Out of respect for those killed, Maui County officials asked us to stop posting new photos of the damage/disaster/debris on social media and elsewhere. They are demanding a complete stop to disaster depiction in future. At this time, we have not been asked to remove any photos or videos. Our teams on the ground are coordinating with the county for further guidance to ensure we remain fully aligned. Cultural sensitivity is of the utmost importance in all of our response and recovery activities to this disaster.
Exclusive 🚨 | A person who wished to remain anonymous sent me this email sent by FEMA to their nonprofit, which is going to Maui to help with disaster relief.
He says he is being asked to stop posting any images or videos while on the ground with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/hdZy5ubwvv
— Anthony Cabassa (@AnthonyCabassa_) 21 August 2023
Cabasa expressed concern in his writing that the source found the directive “odd”, especially considering the timing of its arrival when President Biden was scheduled to visit the island.
In a social media post he wrote, “FEMA has directed them – on orders from the local Maui government. ‘Banning’ them from posting on social media or elsewhere.
The source says they found it “odd”, especially because it was sent when they knew President Biden would be visiting the island. @FEMA has instructed them – on orders from the local Maui government. To “prohibit posting” on their social media or elsewhere.
very interesting …
— Anthony Cabassa (@AnthonyCabassa_) 21 August 2023
Cabasa continued, “This letter gives me the same impression of seeing Nick Sorter upon his arrival in Maui, and a group of people following him when he was trying to investigate the events in Maui.”
Gateway Pundit previously reported A bizarre and horrifying incident occurred on Saturday morning’s broadcast of Steve Bannon’s War Room when freelance reporter Nick Sorter was confronted live on air by a crazed left-wing stalker during a remote report from Maui.
Sorter was standing in the parking lot of the hotel he was staying at when a man dressed in black and wearing a hat, his eyes bulging angrily behind wire-rimmed glasses, approached Sorter and began addressing him by name. done. It was 5:45 am local time. The man accused the sorter of taking resources from fire relief victims by being present only to report. Sorter noted that he was 45 minutes from the site of the fire in Lahaina.
“This guy followed me to my hotel at 5:45 a.m., which is 45 minutes from Lahaina. They had no idea I was going to do a live shot this morning. I was stunned,” Sorter said.
This is now a major security issue. Literally people are following me.
Keep in mind that I was doing that live shot at 5:45 am local time. This makes it even worse.
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) 19 August 2023
Read more below:
Furthermore, a licensed drone operator in Maui says his drone was land And “government officials” met him as he flew his drone over the suspected origin site of a massive fire in Lahaina, Maui.
The claim by Lahaina resident Devin Phelps was reported on X-Twitter by Fox & Friends Weekends co-host Will Cain. Cain owned property in Maui and was one of the first to report the fire from Maui.
Cain posted, “I don’t want to promote ridiculous conspiracy theories but I can just tell you the truth. I just talked to a videographer in Lahaina. Devin Phelps. He is a licensed drone pilot. He has been flying over Lahaina for the past week. And he has stunning and horrifying images of Lahaina…Devin says he was hired by a lawyer to fly his drone over the suspected area where the fire started. There is a no fly zone over Lahaina. But as you can see from the footage, that hasn’t stopped them from taking pictures of Lahaina Town. But it was a different experience at the site of the fire… apparently licensed drone pilots fly through an app coordinated with the FAA. That app may refuse to allow you to fly and remotely ground the drone. This is very rare. But when Phelps reached the suspected fire origin area, he was denied flight and grounded. He then says that two government officials (he doesn’t remember which agency) immediately came up to him, asked for his license, and escorted him out of the parking lot of Lahaina Intermediate School, where he attempted to launch. So why the secrecy in this area? liability? Accountability? Why no clarity on the origin and cause of the fire?”
Read more below:
A Gateway pundit reader sent in a tip (thanks) that an interactive satellite map APP comparing before-and-after photos of Lahaina has been removed. The map was featured in a news article by Scotty Nickerson with the Bay Area News Group titled: Interactive Maui wildfire map: Lahaina’s before-and-after images show scale of devastation
A message on where the photos once were read: “At the request of the responding organizations in Hawaii and out of respect for the ongoing situation, the imagery and data in this app has been removed.” The previous picture is still available when you click the “Close” button in the display.
The caption of the removed imagery remains: “This application provides pre- and post-event imagery of the August 2023 wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii. Use the slider in the tool to toggle between pre-event imagery and post-event imagery highlighting structure and landscape damage from the fire. Maxar imagery taken after the wildfires in Hawaii in August 2023 provided through their Open Data Program. Source: Maxar, August 9, 2023. Imagery: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=eee0c69f4761496d82cfe5bdb4bbf242,
Satellite images of Maui fires removed at request of Hawaii response organizations