A 44-year-old man was found guilty of federal charges for posting social media threats to behead then-Lt. Gov. Josh Green, Mayor Rick Blangiardi and the Waianae Small Boat Harbor master following a disagreement over nonpayment of $30,000 in mooring fees by the leader of a militant Hawaiian sovereignty group.

On Wednesday a federal jury found Lindsey Kinney, aka “Cowboy,” guilty of two counts of interstate threat to injure, over postings on his Instagram and Facebook accounts in January 2022. Kinney considers himself a member of the Occupied Forces Hawaii Army.

He faces up to five years in federal prison on each count, and will remain at the Federal Detention Center-­Honolulu ahead of sentencing May 23 by Chief U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson.

Kinney, who does not believe he is subject to U.S. law, also made online threats in March 2022 to behead Green and his security detail, and Blangiardi.

After the threats, Green’s security staff of sheriff’s deputies “increased its vigilance, familiarizing themselves with Kinney’s appearance” and “scrutinizing those who approached” Green. “There’s no place for violence or threats in our society. We encourage everyone to look out for and care for one another in our state,” Green’s administration told the Hono­lulu Star-Advertiser in a statement.

Blangiardi declined comment, but following the posts, plainclothes Honolulu police officers were present for five days in his office during work hours to protect him and his staff.

“As confirmed by this verdict, posting threats to kill specific targets on social media accounts like Instagram may have serious criminal consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors in a statement. “The use of social media to criminally terrorize members of our community will be investigated and prosecuted by our office.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Nolan prosecuted the case. Kinney’s attorney, Cassandra L. Stamm, declined comment.

Occupied Forces Hawaii is a “group of persons who identify themselves by military titles and ranks who describe their efforts as operations, don military uniforms, carry illegitimate military documents, and maintain their membership in a military organization,” according to social media posts and the findings of an FBI investigation.

The group’s website displays its motto, “Don’t delay, Repatriate today, To the Country of Hawaii.”

The threats a jury found Kinney guilty of posting are connected to the incident in Waianae as well as a March 28 online threat to behead Green, Sheriff’s deputies and Blangiardi.

On Jan. 5, 2022, the harbor master attempted to serve a man identified in court records as Kinney’s associate with a citation for owing the state about $30,000 in unpaid fees due to his unauthorized mooring of a sailboat he lived on in the harbor, and from the state’s disposal of a sailboat previously owned by the man, according to federal court records.

The associate, who was the sailboat owner, was identified as a “colonel” of the Occupied Forces Hawaii who lives in Hilo.

When the “harbor master and state Department of Land and Natural Resources officials approached the sailboat, the owner “began yelling that the officials (could not) provide him the written notice while his vessel (was) under way.”

During the confrontation the hostile owner called the officials a derogatory name, according to court documents.

The sailboat owner tried to report an “armed encounter” to the U.S. Coast Guard and later posted to his followers on social media asking them to identify the officials, including their home addresses, according to saved social media posts shared with the FBI by the harbor master’s wife.

On Jan. 17, 2022, at about noon, Kinney posted on his Instagram accounts that he would cut off the heads of the harbor master, his wife and their friend and take them to the “gates,” according to court records.

On Jan 20, 2022, the harbor master told the FBI that Kinney posted a video stating that DLNR was part of a human trafficking ring and that Kinney would overthrow state government “and then be king,” according to federal court records.

Among Kinney’s threats was a series of posts, including video messages, threatening the harbor master and DLNR that he also posted on the victims’ social media pages.

“All of you will reap what you sow … I’m sending each and everyone of u to the gates for … TREASON … your heads are mines … u going to the gates headless … as our father is waiting for u all patiently … one way trip … Aloha,” Kinney wrote, according to a sworn affidavit by an FBI agent who worked the case.

The harbor master and his wife told FBI agents that they felt threatened by Kinney’s posts and took them so seriously that they “locked their outdoor gates, kept loaded firearms ready and staged at the front door, and rehearsed security procedures with their children due to the threats,” according to a federal criminal complaint.

“Online threats of violence towards our government officials are not only a danger to their personal safety but also to our democracy,” said Steven Merrill, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Honolulu field office. “Today’s verdict serves as a reminder of just how serious this crime is. The FBI encourages anyone who may have knowledge of similar activity to report it immediately,” he said in a statement.

During an April 19 de­tention hearing, Kinney, through an attorney, asserted that he is not subject to U.S. laws due to the illegal occupation and overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom.