{"id":361,"date":"2026-05-14T07:33:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T07:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=361"},"modified":"2026-05-14T07:33:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T07:33:06","slug":"man-arrested-after-video-shows-a-rock-hurled-at-an-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seals-head","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=361","title":{"rendered":"Man arrested after video shows a rock hurled at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal&#8217;s head"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>HONOLULU \u2014 A tourist who drew widespread condemnation in Hawaii after a witness recorded him chucking a coconut-sized rock at \u201cLani,\u201d a beloved, endangered\u00a0Hawaiian monk seal off a Maui beach, was arrested Wednesday by federal agents.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=359\">Madonna, Shakira, BTS to headline first ever World Cup Final Halftime Show<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, is charged with harassing a protected animal, the U.S. attorney&#8217;s office in Honolulu said, adding that National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration special agents arrested him near Seattle. He was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The court docket didn\u2019t list an attorney, and a person who answered the phone at a number associated with Lytvynchuk declined to comment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>A state Department of Land and Natural Resources officer last week 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.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cIn the cellphone video, the man can be seen holding a large rock with one hand, aiming, and throwing it directly at the monk seal,&#8221; prosecutors said a criminal complaint.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The rock, described by a witness as the size of a coconut, narrowly missed the seal&#8217;s head but caused the \u201canimal to abruptly alter its behavior,\u201d the complaint said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>When a witness confronted the man, he said &#8220;he did not care and was \u2018rich\u2019 enough to pay any fines,&#8221; the complaint said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said the charges send a clear message that cruelty toward protected wildlife won&#8217;t be tolerated. Lani&#8217;s return after the wildfires brought a sense of healing and hope during a difficult time, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=357\">\u2018KPop Demon Hunters\u2019 world concert tour: How to sign up for ticket information<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cLani is a reminder that humanity and the instinct to protect what is vulnerable are still values people can unite around,&#8221; Bissen said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The mayor said he called the U.S. attorney in Honolulu to advocate for prosecution.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Lytvynchuk is charged with harassing and attempting to harass an endangered Hawaiian monk seal.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Hawaiian monk seals are a critically endangered species. Only 1,600 remain in the wild.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=355\">This Arizona company repossessed Spirit Airlines planes and flew them to the Arizona desert<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HONOLULU \u2014 A tourist who drew widespread condemnation in Hawaii after a witness recorded him chucking a coconut-sized rock at \u201cLani,\u201d a beloved, endangered\u00a0Hawaiian monk seal off a Maui beach, was arrested Wednesday by federal agents. Read more Madonna, Shakira, BTS to headline first ever World Cup Final Halftime Show Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nation-world"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Man arrested after video shows a rock hurled at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal&#039;s head - Scottsdale Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=361\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Man arrested after video shows a rock hurled at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal&#039;s head - Scottsdale Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"HONOLULU \u2014 A tourist who drew widespread condemnation in Hawaii after a witness recorded him chucking a coconut-sized rock at \u201cLani,\u201d a beloved, endangered\u00a0Hawaiian monk seal off a Maui beach, was arrested Wednesday by federal agents. 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