A tourist from Washington state has entered a not guilty plea to charges of allegedly throwing a rock, the size of a coconut, at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal. The court has subsequently barred him from visiting Hawaii’s beaches.
Igor Lytvynchuk, aged 38 and hailing from Covington, Washington, appeared in U.S. District Court in Honolulu where he denied charges of harassing a protected animal. U.S. Magistrate Judge Rom Trader permitted Lytvynchuk to remain free during the proceedings but imposed restrictions that prevent him from visiting beaches or interacting with marine wildlife while in Hawaii.
Judge Trader emphasized the conditions to Lytvynchuk, stating, “You’re not going to the beach, you understand that,” to which Lytvynchuk confirmed his understanding.
After the court session, Lytvynchuk refrained from making any public comments.
Defense attorney Myles Breiner previously stated that his client was attempting to protect sea turtles and has since faced physical assaults, threats, and been doxed.
Prosecutors allege that earlier this month, a witness captured footage of Lytvynchuk throwing a rock at a monk seal on a Maui beach. Following this, he arranged to turn himself in near Seattle as agents from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sought his arrest, according to the prosecution.
The video drew widespread condemnation and demands for prosecution in Hawaii, including from Maui’s mayor. Scientists identified the seal as an adult male known as “R404,” NOAA said.
According to prosecutors, a state Department of Land and Natural Resources officer investigated a report of Hawaiian monk seal harassment in Lahaina, the community that was largely destroyed by a deadly wildfire in 2023. A witness showed the officer video of the seal swimming in shallow water while a man watched from shore.
The video showed Lytvynchuk throwing the rock, described by a witness as the size of a coconut, directly at the seal, narrowly missing its head, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint.
When a witness confronted Lytvynchuk, he said “he did not care and was ‘rich’ enough to pay any fines,” according to the complaint.
Afterward, a man “brutally assaulted” Lytvynchuk, Breiner said. Lytvynchuk declined to file a police report on the assault, the attorney said.
Breiner explained his client had been to Hawaii previously and was familiar with sea turtles, but not Hawaiian monk seals. Lytvynchuk is a fisherman and thought the seal was an aggressive sea lion, the lawyer said.
“So his response was not to hurt this monk seal, but to get it away from the turtles,” Breiner said.
The incident shows NOAA must do more to educate the public about protecting Hawaiian monk seals, Hawaii’s U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Since the video surfaced, Lytvynchuk has faced death threats and doxing, including receiving a package at his home containing what appeared to be feces, Breiner said.
He said his client is being treated unfairly because he is a white outsider. “The vast majority of attacks on monk seal and turtle are by locals,” he said.
Lytvynchuk is charged with violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Hawaiian monk seals are a critically endangered species. Only 1,600 remain in the wild.
If convicted, he faces up to one year in prison for each charge. He also faces a fine of up to $50,000 under the Endangered Species Act and a fine of up to $20,000 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
At the hearing, attended by numerous Hawaiian monk seal protection activists, Trader set a scheduling hearing for June 9, but said Lytvynchuk is allowed to participate by phone or video from Washington. Trader ordered him not to travel outside Washington and Hawaii. Lytvynchuk said he surrendered his U.S. passport to authorities.
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