Elizabeth and Marc Hokoana, married, were both charged by the King County Prosecutor’s office at 8:30 this morning in connection with the Inauguration Day shooting that took place at the UW last quarter. Bail is set at $50,000 for each and a warrant is out for their arrest.
Elizabeth is charged with first degree assault while Marc is charged with third degree assault. Third degree assault is a class C felony, which could carry a maximum of 43 months behind bars. But with a clean criminal record, which Marc has, he could face one to three months in prison with fines reaching $10,000. First degree assault is a Class A felony. With no criminal record and a firearm enhancement, this carries a sentence of 153 to 183 months in jail, according to the prosecuting attorney’s media relations manager, Dan Donohoe. It can also include up to $50,000 in fines. The victim of the January gunshot, Joshua Dukes, faces no charges.
Dukes remembered grabbing and yelling at a man who had pepper sprayed the crowd the night of the incident. He thought he was holding the man when he felt “the fire sensation in his abdomen,” but regardless did not see who actually fired the weapon. The bullet traveled up into his chest and was lodged in his back.
Dukes, otherwise known as Hex, has made it clear that he prefers restorative justice in which the shooter and accomplice wouldn’t face jail time. Instead, they would have substantial conversations with those involved and with the community, as he doesn’t believe jail is the rehabilitative system it claims to be. The Hokoanas maintain the shooting was an act of self-defense.
Several firearm receipts were found in Marc’s glove box after he and Elizabeth turned themselves in Jan. 20. The 9mm glock found in the car was registered to Marc, but had Elizabeth’s fingerprints on it. The police filed a warrant for Marc’s Facebook page, from which they discovered evidence for premeditation.
Marc had sent “I can’t wait for tomorrow, I’m going to the Milo event and if the snowflakes get out off (sic) hand I’m just going to wade through their ranks and start cracking skulls” in his Facebook messenger. The person he was talking with, Brandon Caley, responded, “god, you gonna carry?” Marc replied “Nah, I’m going full melee…Lily it’s…Is* (sic)” Caley then sent, “GET EM (sic) just don’t end up in jail.”
When the police later had a search warrant for the clothes Marc and Elizabeth wore the night of the shooting, they found a pepper spray “gun” in a jacket pocket.
A witness in the report, described only as D.T., was approached by Marc, who asked D.T. to stand in front of him so he could mace somebody. When D.T. refused, a female stood in front of Marc instead to spray people. D.T. states Dukes intervened when he saw what was happening.
Another witness, S.F., was trying to pull Dukes and Marc apart when he thought he heard a firecracker. Then the victim was falling, and S.F. helped him to the ground, and said “there was no reason for the man to shoot the other individual.” Elizabeth can be seen in videos with her hand on her hip, where Antifa protesters previously stated there was a holster.
“Based on my training and experience, her actions appeared to be consistent with a person who was attempting to pull out a concealed pistol from a holster under her coat,” stated UWPD lieutenant Douglas Schultz in the charging documents, “typically worn in the small of the back for comfort.”
Another witness, who had known Dukes for six years, provided video evidence of instances where Dukes interrupted violence.
“This was not an impulsive act done in the moment of fear,” senior deputy prosecuting attorney Mary Barbosa stated. “…The defendants went to the event at the UW campus with intent to provoke altercations with protesters who they knew would be at this controversial event. The defendants created a situation designed to allow Elizabeth Hokoana to shoot the victim in the middle of an extremely crowded event under the guise of defending herself or her husband. The degree of planning involved in this crime demonstrates the danger that these defendants present to the community.”
Multiple witnesses said Marc was egging people on, and two described him as intoxicated.
Witness B.F. stated Marc went “over to the group of protestors agitating the group by calling them snowflakes, libtards and saying that [Trump] was their president … kept patting people on the back which caused reactions … got in a fight.”
The Hokoanas can no longer possess a firearm and are prohibited from contacting Dukes. Elizabeth has been banned from the UW campus since Jan. 23. Currently, the court arraignment is May 8 at the King County Courthouse, but will likely be moved forward by the Hokoanas’ attorneys.
Kelsey Hamlin | Portfolio 
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