Tulsi Gabbard’s brother accused of inviting children to hotel room, offering money, police say

HONOLULU (KNHL/Gray News) - The brother of former National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard was arrested and charged Friday in connection with a stranger danger incident in Hawaii.

Batari Gabbard, 55, was charged with custodial interference in the second degree.

Police said he approached multiple children, including a 9-year-old boy, at a Waikiki hotel pool and offered them gum and money before inviting them back to his hotel room. The children refused, and he walked away, police said.

Witnesses told police he asked the children for their names and wrote them down in a notebook.

Batari Gabbard’s father, Hawaii state Sen. Mike Gabbard, told Hawaii News Now that his son has been on drugs and is suffering a mental health episode.

Batari Gabbard was admitted to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation.