US Agents Arrest Tourist After Video Shows a Rock Hurled at an Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal's Head
Federal prosecutors say the man faces Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act charges, with penalties of up to $50,000 and a year in prison.
- A 38-year-old Washington man, Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, was arrested Wednesday near Seattle by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration special agents for allegedly throwing a rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal in Lahaina on May 5.
- Witnesses filmed the May 5 incident as Lytvynchuk tracked Lani, a Hawaiian monk seal, along the Lahaina shoreline before allegedly picking up a large rock and throwing it directly at her head.
- After witnesses confronted him, Lytvynchuk allegedly told them he was "rich enough to pay the fines" before walking away, while the rock narrowly missed the seal's nose, startling her.
- Lytvynchuk is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court on Thursday at 9 a.m., facing up to one year in prison per charge and fines up to $50,000 under the Endangered Species Act.
- Hawaiian monk seals are critically endangered, with only 1,600 remaining in the wild, and U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson pledged rapid accountability for those who harass protected wildlife.
45 Articles
45 Articles
Washington Businessman Federally Charged After Throwing Rock at Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal
You can learn everything you need to know about a man by watching how he treats a creature that can’t fight back. Money can buy a lot of things — boats, vacations, fancy lawyers — but it has never once purchased an ounce of character. That truth played out in ugly detail on a Maui...
US Man Arrested After Video Shows He Hurled Rock At Endangered Seal In Hawaii
Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, from Covington, Washington, was taken into custody near Seattle on Wednesday and charged with harassing a protected marine animal, according to the US attorney's office in Honolulu.
Washington state man accused of hurling rock at endangered seal’s head
HONOLULU — A tourist from Washington state is facing federal charges after a witness recorded what prosecutors say was a video of him hurling a coconut-sized rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal just off a Maui beach last week.
Associated Press News
US agents arrest tourist after video shows a rock hurled at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal's head
A tourist from Washington state is facing federal charges after a witness recorded what prosecutors say was a video of him hurling a coconut-sized rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal just off a Maui beach last week.
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