Tulsi Gabbard
brother charged after allegedly trying to lure kids to hotel room
Published
Tulsi Gabbard‘s older brother is facing criminal charges after Hawaii police say he allegedly tried to lure several young children to a hotel room by offering them money and gum.
According to the Honolulu Police Department, 55-year-old Batarti Gabbard, brother of President Trump‘s former Director of National Intelligence, was arrested Friday in connection with a July 12 incident at a Waikīkī hotel pool.
Cops say Gabbard approached multiple children including a 9 year old boy and allegedly offered them gum and cash if they followed him to a nearby hotel room. Police say he also asked the kids for their names and wrote them down in a notebook.
Authorities say the children refused and Gabbard eventually walked away. A woman later reported the incident to police.
Gabbard has been charged with second-degree custodial interference.
According to KITV, Gabbard’s father, Hawaii State Senator Mike Gabbard, said his son, who started going by Batarti in lieu of his birth name Bhakti, has a history of mental health issues but had been stable for about a decade before recently beginning to behave erratically.
Mike claimed his son’s behavior spiraled after smoking marijuana, saying he gave away his car, lost his phone and ID, and began identifying himself as “Jim Morrison Jr.” because he believed he was a rock star.
The state senator also said a family member later took Gabbard to a hospital for a psychological evaluation, where he was placed on a 72 hour psychiatric hold.
