Attorney says – The lawyer for Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, accused of throwing a rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal, says the incident was driven by a belief the seal was endangering sea turtles. Prosecutors cite a viral video and witness accounts, while the defense d
A viral video captured a moment that quickly turned into outrage: a man on a Maui shoreline throws a rock toward an endangered Hawaiian monk seal. Now, the attorney for the accused man is arguing the act was meant to protect sea turtles, not injure the protected animal.
Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk. 38. of Covington. Washington. faces federal charges tied to the May 5. 2026 incident. which prosecutors say involved harassing and attempting to harass an endangered animal.. He was arrested near Seattle last week.. The case is brought under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Federal exposure is significant. If convicted, Lytvynchuk could face up to one year in prison on each charge. The Endangered Species Act carries a fine of up to $50,000, while the Marine Mammal Protection Act carries a fine of up to $20,000.
In court filings and witness accounts described in the complaint, the incident is tied to what witnesses said they heard from Lytvynchuk after they confronted him. The complaint includes that he told witnesses he was “rich enough to pay the fines,” a line his attorney disputes.
His attorney, Myles Breiner, defended his client publicly, saying Lytvynchuk never intended to harm the monk seal.
“I want to be resoundingly clear to the public — he never intended to injure the monk seal,” Breiner told KHON-TV News.
Breiner said Lytvynchuk believed he was acting to protect sea turtles, or honu, resting on shoreline rocks. “He wanted to scare the seal away from the honu he saw there,” Breiner said. He added that there were “two large turtles and one had already been knocked off the rock by the seal.”
Breiner also argued that Lytvynchuk did not understand that Hawaiian monk seals are an endangered species. He said the defendant’s thinking was influenced by past experience with aggressive sea lions while fishing in Washington state.
“Sea lions are very aggressive,” Breiner said. “They’ll take your bait, they’ll take your fish — that’s been his experience.”
Prosecutors, meanwhile, point to the viral video and witness accounts as key factors that helped lead to the charge.. In the footage described in the complaint, a woman is heard shouting, “What are you doing?. Why would you throw a rock at it?. Hello?” as a man wearing a white shirt and swim trunks throws a rock toward the seal on a Maui shoreline.
After witnesses confronted him, Lytvynchuk allegedly responded that he was “rich enough to pay the fines” if he got into trouble. Breiner pushed back on that portrayal as well.
“That was a misinterpretation,” Breiner said. “The statement was, ‘I can afford it.’”
Breiner also said the defendant plans to take responsibility for violating the law, while maintaining that the decision was not driven by an intent to hurt the animal.
“He recognizes he made a bad decision, but the decision wasn’t based on trying to hurt the animal,” Breiner said.
Business records show Lytvynchuk owns a logistics and trucking company based in Kent, Washington.
The tension at the heart of the case is stark: a confrontation captured on camera and described by witnesses suggests disregard for consequences, while the defense argues the rock throw was tied to a mistaken belief about protecting honu—and that he did not know the monk seal was endangered.
Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk Myles Breiner Hawaiian monk seal Endangered Species Act Marine Mammal Protection Act honu sea turtles Maui shoreline viral video federal charges