A tourist who is facing federal charges after allegedly throwing a coconut-sized rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal on a Maui beach was “brutally assaulted,” his lawyer claims.
The rock-throwing incident was captured on video and sparked widespread outrage.
Igor Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Honolulu on Wednesday, accused of harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal.
Lytvynchuk’s defense attorney, Myles Breiner, claims his client was trying to protect sea turtles, mistaking the monk seal for an aggressive sea lion.
“So his response was not to hurt this monk seal, but to get it away from the turtles,” Breiner stated. The attorney added that Lytvynchuk, a fisherman, was familiar with sea turtles from previous visits but not Hawaiian monk seals.
Since the video surfaced, Lytvynchuk has reportedly faced severe backlash, including death threats, doxing, and a physical assault.
Breiner told The Associated Press that a man “brutally assaulted” Lytvynchuk, though his client declined to file a police report. The attorney also suggested his client is being unfairly targeted as a “white outsider,” claiming, “The vast majority of attacks on monk seal and turtle are by locals.”
Prosecutors allege that earlier this month, a witness recorded Lytvynchuk throwing the rock at the seal, later identified by NOAA scientists as an adult male known as “R404.”
The video, which showed the rock narrowly missing the seal’s head, led to condemnation across Hawaii, including from Maui’s mayor. Lytvynchuk later arranged to surrender in Seattle as federal agents sought his arrest.
According to the criminal complaint, a state Department of Land and Natural Resources officer investigated the reported harassment in Lahaina. The witness confronted Lytvynchuk, who allegedly responded that “he did not care and was ‘rich’ enough to pay any fines.”
The incident has prompted calls for greater public education on protecting Hawaiian monk seals, a critically endangered species with only about 1,600 remaining in the wild. Hawaii’s U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat, emphasized the need for NOAA to do more in this regard.
Lytvynchuk is charged with violations of both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. If convicted, he faces up to one year in prison for each charge, along with potential fines of up to $20,000.
