Tulsi Gabbard's Brother Charged with Attempting to Lure Children in Hawaii
Batarti Gabbard, the older brother of former National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, has been charged with attempting to lure children to a hotel room in Waikiki, Hawaii. The incident took place on July 12, when Gabbard, 55, allegedly approached several children at a hotel pool, offering them gum and money to accompany him to his room. According to the Honolulu Police Department, the case has been classified as a "Stranger Danger Incident," and Gabbard has been charged with custodial interference in the second degree.
A woman reported the incident to the police, stating that Gabbard asked the children for their names and wrote them down in a notebook. The children refused his advances, prompting him to leave the area. Gabbard is also the son of state Senator Mike Gabbard. In a statement, his parents revealed that he has a history of mental health issues but had been stable for the past decade. Recently, however, they noted a decline in his behavior, which they attributed to substance use, including marijuana.
His family reported that Gabbard had been living on the streets after being kicked out by his wife, losing his car, ID, and phone. They mentioned that he had renamed himself Batarti and claimed to be a rock star, experiencing delusions. Following the incident, a relative took him for a psychological evaluation, where he indicated that drugs, including cocaine and marijuana, would be found in his system. He was subsequently admitted to a hospital for a 72-hour observation period.
Gabbard was arrested on July 13 in connection with a theft incident and has pleaded not guilty to those charges. He is scheduled to appear in court for the theft case on August 14, while no date has been set for the custodial interference case. Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned from her DNI position in June, cited her husband's rare cancer diagnosis as a reason for her departure from the role.
