U.S. President Donald Trump is vowing further federal control over the missile-alert system in Hawai'i, saying that Washington will "get involved" after a false alarm this weekend about an incoming missile strike on the island state.
Residents of Hawai'i received cellphone alerts warning of an incoming ballistic missile strike, causing widespread panic. State officials now say that the erroneous broadcast of the alert was the result of the accidental pressing of the live alert button at the Emergency Management Agency during a shift-change. Hawai'i Governor David Ige has apologized.
Trump told the press that what happened on Saturday "was a state thing", adding that "I love that they [state officials on Hawai'i] took responsibility". The Federal Communications Commission has opened an investigation.
Building on Trump's comments, FCC Chair Ajit Pai suggested in a statement that it appeared the Government of Hawai'i didn't have reasonable safeguards in place to prevent an accidental alert going out to the state's residents.