KAHULUI — More than 1,000 Maui residents raucously applauded U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on Thursday night in what appeared to be more of a campaign rally than a town hall meeting in the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Castle Theater.

Gabbard, who represents Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District, ended her statewide tour on the Valley Isle after speaking to more than 3,500 constituents in the islands on issues such as the Syrian civil war, legalizing marijuana and impeaching President Donald Trump. The Democrat was highly critically of the new administration and its role in foreign affairs.

“We need to stop trying to be the policemen of the world,” she said.

Gabbard has drawn heavy media attention since January when she announced that she met with Syria President Bashar Assad, and for denouncing the Trump administration after it launched a “reckless, unconstitutional and illegal missile strike” on a Syrian air base earlier this month.

“I’m gravely concerned about where the mindset of our leadership is,” Gabbard said Thursday. “That even for those who have casted doubt, criticism and resistance against President Trump on every single issue, calling him a liar and all these other things, as soon as he launches 59 missiles: ‘Finally President Trump is being a president.’

“It blows my mind. Both the hypocrisy of that, but the dangerous consequences of it.”

On Thursday, she demanded that the president end “counterproductive regime change wars” and lobbied for support of her Stop Arming Terrorists Act, which prohibits U.S. government funds from being used to support al-Qaida, the Islamic State and other terrorist groups. Many of the audience’s questions revolved around national and international issues, with some people urging her to investigate Russian operatives trying to use Trump advisers to infiltrate the Trump administration.

She also was asked if she would support impeaching the president.

To that, she replied: “I’m studying up on the legality and steps for the articles of impeachment.”

She reminded the crowd, though, that impeaching Trump would elevate Vice President Mike Pence.

“I have no question that he would be very dangerous for our country as president,” she said. “Both because of his positions, but also as a former member of Congress and former governor and someone who is extremely well-connected and well-respected within the Republican establishment that he would be able to be far more effective in pushing his policies than we’ve seen this administration in its first 100 days.

“I would not be surprised if, behind closed doors, a lot of Republicans would like to see Trump impeached because they want to see a President Pence. Not for the right reasons.”

Some Maui residents asked Gabbard about fighting invasive species in Maui County, the justice system and health care.

Deborah Taylor, chief of security at Maui Community Correctional Center, asked Gabbard if she could lend her support to increased funding in assistance programs and judicial reform. The jail is consistently the most overcrowded in the state and has twice the number of prisoners it was designed to hold.

Gabbard said that she would seek federal funding to provide support for released inmates through halfway houses, job training and skill training to help people take care of themselves and their families.

“Your prison needs some serious renovations, there’s no question of that,” Gabbard said. “It was quite shocking to see the conditions people are living in there. But, right along with putting resources toward that, there has to be a strong focus on people not ending up there in the first place.”

Other issues Gabbard addressed Thursday included stopping internet service providers from selling individuals’ internet browsing history without consent and decriminalizing marijuana.

The congresswoman characterized marijuana as being a “nonsense federal law,” and she questioned punishing people with it at the same level as those with heroin.

“It defies logic. It defies science, and it defies, frankly, humanity,” she said.

Gabbard referenced Maui’s two medical marijuana dispensaries that plan to open this year and said she spoke with officials at local banks, insurance companies and other federally regulated industries. She said they do not know what to do with lending because of the difference in state and federal laws.

“As we wring our hands over overcrowded prisons, their dilapidated condition and our broken criminal justice system, this is one step that we can take to help alleviate that pressure,” she said. “To help make sure we’re not ruining people’s lives and tearing families apart by sending them to prison for the use or possession of a substance that has been proven time and again to be far less dangerous than alcohol.”

While Gabbard offered few comments on any efforts or support she plans for Maui County, she said that her military service in Iraq and roles on various committees forged her focus on foreign policy and international relations.

“I knew somehow I wanted to be in a position to be able to help make sure that our country did not continue to repeat the mistakes of the past that resulted in so much of what I saw and experienced,” she said.

* Chris Sugidono can be reached at csugidono@mauinews.com.