Remember the whole Hawaii false missile alert that went out? Well, the emergency alert worker that sent out the false missile alert to Hawaii residents told officials that he really did believe the state was under attack, according to a preliminary report from the FCC.
The FCC has been investigating the matter and shows a bizarre development in the incident, where Hawaiian residents were left scrambling after receiving message about an incoming missile attack. After the alert spread like wildfire, the state alerted everyone saying that the worker accidentally selected the wrong option in a drop-down menu. But according to this new development, it’s hard to see how the worker’s statement works into what was previously said.
The FCC in its report said that the incident happening during a shift change. Apparently, the midnight shift worker played a recording over the phone to day shift workers that included language used for a drill — “EXERCISE, EXERCISE, EXERCISE” — but apparently the live alert message was there too, “THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” Right now, it’s unclear if this happens all the time internally or it’s a different message every time.
FCC believes that the alert was sent intentionally because he believed there really was an attack that was going to happen. The state has previously said that the alert was sent accidentally, so there was some disputing details from both sides.