Maui Solar Telescope: 5 Arrested During Protest

HONOLULU, HI — State officials say five arrests were made when roughly 100 people tried to block an equipment convoy for a solar telescope under construction on a Hawaii mountain that's deemed sacred by native Hawaiians.

Police arrested three women and two men early Wednesday, state Department of Land and Natural Resources spokesman Dan Dennison said. A man who was lying on the ground for at least 10 minutes was taken to a hospital, the Maui News reported.

Construction of the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope on Maui's Haleakala is nearly complete, unlike another embattled telescope planned for a different Hawaii mountain. Opponents of both say the telescopes will desecrate land sacred to Native Hawaiians. (For more information on this and other Across Hawaii stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Hawaii Island's Mauna Kea is stalled amid protests and a state Supreme Court ruling invalidating its building permit.

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER, Associated Press

Photo credit:Caleb Jones/Associated Press