US tourist arrested for allegedly throwing rock at endangered Hawaiian monk seal
A video of the incident of a coconut-sized rock being hurled towards the animal’s head has drawn widespread condemnation
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 US 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 US 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 a lawyer in Hawaii, 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 lawyer Lytvynchuk hired.
Two supporters who attended the hearing declined to comment.