More than 1,000 people marched in Waikiki and gathered in Kapiolani Park on July 21, 2019 in protest of the project. The protest continued into August 2019 at the entrance of the Mauna Kea access road, in front of Pu'u Huluhulu on Hawaii Route 200. It was announced on August 9, that astronomers at other Mauna Kea observatories would return to work after halting for many weeks in response to the gathering protesters and activists. However, a former systems specialist for one of the facilities claimed it was wrong to blame the demonstrators stating: They chose to close down for fear of protesters who are unarmed and nonviolent.