David Y. Ige

(Honolulu) – A 23-year-old man from New York was arrested this morning by special agents from the Department of the Attorney General for violation of the mandatory 14-day quarantine rule and unsworn falsification to authority.

Tarique Peters of the Bronx arrived on O‘ahu on Monday and posted numerous pictures of himself on Instagram. He allegedly left his hotel room the day he arrived and traveled many places using public transportation.

Authorities became aware of his social media posts from citizens who saw posts of him – on the beach with a surfboard, sunbathing, and walking around Waikiki at night. This morning agents were able to confirm with hotel personnel that had seen Peters leave his room and the premises on numerous occasions this week.

When he was arrested, a local man was with him and charges are pending against him. Peters was booked and his bail is set at $4,000.

Hawai‘i Attorney General Clare Connors said, “We appreciate the assistance of local people who spot flagrant violations of our emergency rules on various social media sites and report them to the appropriate authorities.”

# # #

MEDIA CONTACT:
Dan Dennison
Lead Public Information Officer
[email protected]
(808) 354-4263