When the Territorial Governor of Hawaii signed the order for martial law after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, islanders believed that it was only for a short time, but it ended up lasting until 1944. Fear and hatred directed at Japanese Americans led to suspension of the rule of habeas corpus as the civilian rule of law was replaced by military courts. The director of “When Fear Reigned,” journalist and historian Tom Coffman, uses eyewitness accounts, stills and news footage to document this period of Hawaiian history, not without parallels to the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Among the persons interviewed are Ah Quon McElrath, Joanne Kahanamoku Sterling, Doris Berg Nye, Harry Urata and Pat Nomura.