Citizen reporter Nick Sortor, who has been doing a man’s job reporting on the scene of the Maui wildfire disaster, appears to have been accosted by police while trying to question the mayor about the missing children.
🚨 THE MAUI POLICE SHUT MY HEAD OFF FOR ASKING THE MAYOR ABOUT THE MISSING CHILDREN
MAYOR BISSEN KNOWS THE ANSWER, BUT HIDES IT.
The mainstream media has REFUSED to press the mayor on this, so the residents and I started pressing him HARD over the last DAYS.
It’s been… pic.twitter.com/ewZgl7lwz4
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 23, 2023
“THE MAUI POLICE HAS CLOUDED ME TO ASK THE MAYOR ABOUT THE MISSING CHILDREN,” Sortor informed X. “MAYOR BISSEN KNOWS THE ANSWER, BUT HE’S HIDING IT.”
“The mainstream media has REFUSED to press the mayor on this, so the residents and I started pressing him HARD over the last DAYS,” he continued. “Since then he has been demonizing and trying to discredit me.”
“In any case, we have been able to shut down this story,” he continued. “THIS IS A COVER-UP. THE CHILDREN WERE BURNED ALIVE. I’ve even heard HORRIBLE first-hand accounts of locals finding BABY BONES IN CAR SEATS and bones of a young boy lying on top of his dog to protect him from the inferno.”
“The four schools in Lahaina served more than 3,000 students. — ONLY 400 have enrolled in other schools,” Sortor pointed out. “Another 200 are doing virtual learning WHERE ARE THE KIDS, MR. MAYOR?”
The video shows an altercation with police officers as Sortor tried to question the Maui County mayor about unidentified bodies and missing children.
“How many children have died?” Sortor asked repeatedly. Mayor Bissen finally confessed, “I don’t know.”
The incident comes after reports of an official media blackout on new footage coming out of Maui. On Monday, a letter from FEMA dated August 19, 2023 surfaced.
EXCLUSIVE 🚨 | A person who wishes to remain anonymous sent me this email from FEMA sent to their non-profit that is headed to Maui to help with disaster relief.
They say they are being asked to STOP posting pictures or videos while on the ground effective immediately. pic.twitter.com/hdZy5ubwvv
— Anthony Cabassa (@AnthonyCabassa_) August 21, 2023
“A person who wishes to remain anonymous sent me this email from FEMA sent to their non-profit that is going to Maui to help with disaster relief,” he said. report Anthony Cabasa. “They say they are being asked to STOP posting pictures or videos while on the ground with immediate effect.”
The letter of August 19 says:
“Out of respect for those who died, Maui County officials have asked us to stop posting new images of damage/disaster/trash on social media and elsewhere from now on. They are asking for an end to disaster footage in the future. We have not been asked for any photos or videos at this time. Our team on the ground is coordinating with the County for further guidance to ensure we are fully aligned. Cultural sensitivity is of utmost importance in all of our response and recovery activities to this disaster.”
He signed off as Justin Angel Knighton, who is the director of FEMA’s Office of External Affairs.
This agrees with other reports, such as that of Fox News’ Will Cain.
To be clear, there have been A LOT of amazing citizen journalists and local news stories like @MauiNOW are great. But when you try to control information, you sow the seed of the conspiracy theory. You know a missing resource on Maui: information.
— Will Cain (@willcain) August 15, 2023
“We think we’re the only national media in West Maui,” Cain said. “I haven’t seen any other teams. And they tried to censor us and shut us down. ‘West Maui is a media free zone.’ We only went through the checkpoints because I own property in West Maui. They have this place in information blackout from Waihee to Maalaea.”
“To be clear, there have been A LOT of amazing citizen journalists and local news stories like @MauiNOW are great,” he added. “But when you try to control information, you sow the seed of the conspiracy theory. You know one resource that Maui lacks: information.
Nick Sortor has provided more reports that are shedding light on the deteriorating situation on Maui.
🚨 JOE BIDEN IS IN MAUI
As Biden flies in circles above Maui, residents are stuck with road closures for the next few hours.
Biden will then meet with pre-selected “residents” and NOT take questions from the media.
Imagine.
The police are telling me that… pic.twitter.com/JiR1iZganY
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 21, 2023
When Sortor was asked if the military ever mobilized to set up camps and supplies for the survivors, his answer was serious.
“It’s basically ALL volunteer and non-profit operations,” he said. “FEMA is doing virtually nothing. Very frustrating.”
However, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell insists that she and Biden have been in close communication throughout the disaster response.
NOW READ:
FEMA orders appear for complete blackout of Maui disaster footage
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OPINION: This article contains comments that reflect the opinion of the author.
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