Bomb threat forces evacuation of Maui News
Two other island firms were also affected
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The Maui News
Maui had three false-alarm bomb threats Thursday, including one at The Maui News that resulted in an evacuation of nearly two dozen employees and a police search of the premises for about an hour in the early afternoon.
There also were threats at a business off Ohukai Road in Kihei and at a care home in Kahului, said Maui Police Department Lt. Gregg Okamoto.
The Maui News emailed threat came with the subject line: "Better listen to me." It falsely reported a hidden explosive and demanded $20,000 in Bitcoin.
Joe Bradley, publisher of The Maui News, said: "Like other Maui businesses, our Thursday was disrupted by an email bomb threat. The police responded promptly, and we were back to work about an hour after discovering the threat.
"The threats were apparently widespread across the country, and it is hard to imagine what goal the perpetrators had in mind," he said.
Maui police and firefighters responded to the report of a bomb threat at The Maui News. Bradley thanked them for the quick response.