Washington tourist pleads not guilty in Hawaiian monk seal rock case, barred from Hawaii beaches

A tourist from Washington state pleaded not guilty in federal court in Honolulu to charges of harassing and attempting to harass a protected Hawaiian monk seal. The magistrate judge allowed him to remain free while the case proceeds but ordered him to stay away from Hawaii beaches and marine wildlife. Prosecutors said a witness recorded him throwing a coconut-sized rock at an adult male monk seal at a Maui beach, narrowly missing the seal’s head. The incident was investigated after a report of harassment in Lahaina, a community affected by a deadly wildfire in 2023. The video led to widespread condemnation and calls for prosecution, and the suspect later arranged to surrender as NOAA agents sought to arrest him.

"Igor Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, was in U.S. District Court in Honolulu Wednesday, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal. U.S. Magistrate Judge Rom Trader allowed him to remain free pending the criminal case but ordered him to stay away from beaches and marine wildlife while in Hawaii. "You're not going to the beach, you understand that," Trader told Lytvynchuk, who responded that he understood."

"Earlier this month, a witness recorded what prosecutors say was a video of him throwing the rock at a Hawaiian monk seal at a Maui beach. He later made arrangements to surrender in the Seattle area as special agents with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were seeking to arrest him, prosecutors said. 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."

"One of his defense attorneys, Myles Breiner, said previously his client was trying to protect sea turtles and has since been physically assaulted, threatened and doxed. Lytvynchuk declined to comment after the hearing. When a witness confronted Lytvynchuk, he said "he did "

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