Tulsi Gabbard’s brother charged in Waikiki ‘stranger danger’ incident

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Batarti Gabbard, the brother of former national intelligence director and former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, was arrested and charged Friday in connection with a stranger danger incident in Waikiki.

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The 55-year-old, also known as Bhakti, was charged with custodial interference in the second degree, police said.

Police said he approached multiple children, including a 9-year-old boy, at the pool of a Waikiki hotel at around 2 p.m. and offered them gum and money before inviting them back to his hotel room.

Witnesses told HPD he also asked the children for their names and wrote them down in a notebook. The children refused and he walked away, police said.

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Gabbard’s father, state Sen. Mike Gabbard, told Hawaii News Now that Gabbard is suffering a mental health episode.

The lawmaker who represents Kapolei, Makakilo, Ewa, and Ko Olina said his son has been on drugs and was admitted to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation Friday afternoon.

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