Hannah Liebreich, Executive Committee Co-Chair (2020-21) and Meda Chesney-Lind
From Honolulu Civil Beat
Excerpt:
Certainly, UH administrators dismissed his disturbing pattern of behavior, including hosting and showcasing racist and misogynistic groups, under the guise of ‘freedom of speech.’ In retrospect, the unfortunate trivialization of Ochs and his right-wing conservatism can clearly be seen as a serious mistake.
In fact, Ochs’s brand of conservativism has been gaining traction in Hawaii since the 2016 election, and we learned last week that this brand of conservatism is, in fact, violent and sometimes deadly.
Additionally, when Ochs ran for the state House of Representatives in District 22, he was formally endorsed by Hawaii’s Republican Party.
We hope that new Democratic leadership will be outspoken about growing conservatism at the state and national levels. For example, newly elected state congressman Adrian Tam—who, incidentally, beat Ochs in the District 22 race—led the charge condemning Ochs’ role in the Wednesday riots with an official letter calling for those involved with the attack on the U.S. Capitol be placed on the no-fly list.