Longshot Democratic candidate charged with terroristic threat after 'pulling a firearm on two government workers'

By WILL POTTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 06:07, 31 May 2026 | Updated: 06:07, 31 May 2026 A longshot Democratic candidate for Congress in Hawaii was arrested after walking into a government building and allegedly threatening officials with a firearm.  Kirill Basin, 40, a candidate for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District, allegedly threatened two Maui County workers around 9:30am on Friday, before fleeing and being arrested hours later.  It is unclear why Basin allegedly entered the government building or who he threatened, however police said it followed a string of bizarre behavior from the congressional candidate.  Two days before his arrest, Basin was escorted from a South Maui town hall meeting after allegedly getting into a hostile argument with Councilmember Tom Cook and his staff.  Cook's executive assistant Jared Agtunong alleged that after Basin was hauled out of the town hall, he then confronted Agtunong in the parking lot and police were forced to intervene.  Agtunong said in a petition for a restraining order against Basin that he had also been sent a series of lewd and cryptic texts in the days before the clash, per Honolulu Civil Beat.  He alleged that when he ignored a call from Basin, he was sent texts 'telling me that I'm a piece of trash' and that 'I should think of my family' as he insisted he call him back, Agtunong said in the restraining order filing.  He said Basin continued messaging him for hours, including Basin 'wishing me luck with prison' and warning him, 'You're f***ed.'  Kirill Basin, 40, a longshot Democratic candidate for Congress in Hawaii was arrested after walking into a government building and allegedly threatening officials with a firearm Days before his arrest, Basin also allegedly got into a heated argument with Maui County Councilmember Tom Cook, and Cook's assistant Jared Agtunong (seen together) filed a restraining order against him  Agtunong's restraining order was filed at 3pm Friday, around two hours after Basin was arrested for allegedly threatening government workers.  A judge granted Agtunong's request for a temporary restraining order within two hours of it being filed in court.  According to court records cited by the Honolulu Civil Beat, Basin was also arrested for disorderly conduct on May 2.  On Thursday, Basin filed a lawsuit regarding that earlier arrest against Maui Police Chief John Pelletier and Maui County, alleging that he was wrongfully arrested.  He alleged that authorities subjected him to 'prolonged and deliberate infliction of physical, sexual and psychological abuse' while he was detained.  Court records showed Basin filed the lawsuit without an attorney and is representing himself, and he took to his campaign's Instagram account to announce his action against officials.  'This is the lawsuit I served today. It basically outlines how 3 police officers tortured me for 14 hours,' Basin wrote in the Instagram post.  'That’s the gist. It’ll never happen to anyone again.'  Basin, 40, is a candidate for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District  Basin was previously arrested for disorderly conduct on May 2, after which he filed a lawsuit accusing police of 'torturing' him in custody  Following Basin's arrest on Friday for allegedly threatening officials with a gun, Pelletier said in a statement: 'The Maui Police Department will not compromise public safety, and incidents of this nature are taken extremely seriously in Maui County. 'I am extremely proud of the quick response and professionalism displayed by our personnel, which helped ensure a peaceful resolution.'  Basin was arrested for terroristic threatening in the first degree, and police said additional charges are pending review, reports Hawaii News Now.  The Daily Mail has contacted Cook and Agtunong for comment on the alleged altercation, and the Maui Police Department for a response to Basin's lawsuit.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.