Officials took away three tents from Hawaiian groups at 'Iolani Palace who were there yesterday to observe the anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian government in 1893.

They did not remove the two flags or display material, tables and chairs brought onto the palace grounds. Yesterday, the small group of men and women were there to recognize the start of the overthrow, something they've done every year for the past 20 years.

"The state has never stopped us before," said Baron Ching, a member of the Sacred Times and Sacred Places organization, which oversees the maintenance of the burial mound on the palace grounds. "They said they'd arrest us if we go into Pohukaina.

"We're not the interlopers here. We come every month to malama this place. We are doing the job we've been asked to do."

The tensions ran high between state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the members of the sovereign groups. Before the tents were removed, the DLNR enforcement officers surrounded the group as they held hands, sang "Hawai`i Pono`i" and prayed.

"As long as there are less than 25 people gathering they can assemble," said Dan Quinn, state Department of Land and Natural Resources parks administrator. "Our officers are here as a precaution."

Under newly adopted rules, the items represented a violation of state Department of Land and Natural Resources rules governing the palace. The rules have been more stringently adhered to in recent months since a group of Hawaiians occupied the palace on Statehood Day in August.