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.
Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, made arrangements to surrender in the Seattle area on Wednesday as special agents with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were seeking to arrest him, Assistant U.S. Attorney Aislinn Affinito in Honolulu said.
He is charged with harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal.
Lytvynchuk, who lives in Covington, Washington, was in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Thursday. A judge ordered him released pending another court appearance in Honolulu on May 27.
Greg Geist, a federal public defender who represented Lytvynchuk at the hearing, said Lytvynchuk hired an attorney in Hawaiʻi, whose name was not immediately listed in the case docket. After the hearing, Geist declined to acknowledge questions from an Associated Press reporter or identify the attorney Lytvynchuk hired.
Two supporters who attended the hearing declined to comment.
The video drew widespread condemnation and demands for prosecution in Hawaiʻi, including from Maui’s mayor.
A state Department of Land and Natural Resources officer last week investigated a report of Hawaiian monk seal harassment in Lahaina. A witness showed the officer video of the seal swimming in shallow water while a man watched from shore.
“In the cellphone video, the man can be seen holding a large rock with one hand, aiming, and throwing it directly at the monk seal," prosecutors said in a criminal complaint. The rock, described by a witness as the size of a coconut, narrowly missed the seal's head, but caused the “animal to abruptly alter its behavior,” the complaint said.
When a witness confronted the man, he said "he did not care and was ‘rich’ enough to pay any fines," according to the complaint.
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said the charges send a clear message that cruelty toward protected wildlife won't be tolerated. He identified the seal as “Lani,” a known and beloved character along Lahaina's waterfront, whose return after the wildfires brought a sense of healing and hope during a difficult time.
But the state natural resources department said in an email that it likely was not Lani, as it lacked certain markings.
“Humanity and the instinct to protect what is vulnerable are still values people can unite around," Bissen said in an emailed statement.
The mayor said he called the U.S. attorney in Honolulu to advocate for prosecution.
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, Lytvynchuk 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.
