The Hawaii employee who accidentally triggered an alert for an incoming ballistic missile Saturday has been temporarily reassigned, pending an investigation into the incident.
A spokesperson for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency did not say exactly what the employee is doing now, but noted the new role "does not provide access to the warning system."
As we previously reported, the false alarm was sent out to the people of Hawaii after the employee accidentally pushed the wrong button during an internal test. There's a safeguard meant to prevent this sort of thing from happening, but the employee clicked through it.
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While Hawaii is making some changes to its system, the Federal Communications Commission is already investigating the mishap.
In a statement, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called the incident "absolutely unacceptable." He noted, "False alerts undermine public confidence in the alerting system and thus reduce their effectiveness during real emergencies."
On Sunday, President Donald Trump suggested federal officials would now get involved in Hawaii's alert system, but he commended state authorities for taking responsibility for the error.
