A tourist who was accused of throwing a large rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal has been facing a lot of backlash both online and in real life.
The man, identified as 38-year-old Igor Lytvynchuk from Covington, Washington, is currently facing federal charges following the incident earlier this month.
According to officials, a witness recorded a video of him tossing a rock, roughly the size of a coconut, toward a Hawaiian monk seal resting in shallow water.
Prosecutors said the rock barely missed the animal’s head.
The seal was later identified by scientists as an adult male known as R404.
Not long after authorities began searching for him, Lytvynchuk turned himself in near Seattle; he is now expected to appear in federal court in Honolulu.
The video spread quickly online and sparked outrage across Hawaii, with many people calling for criminal charges.
Even Maui’s mayor publicly condemned the incident.
Officials said the case began after Hawaii land officers received reports of someone harassing a monk seal near Lahaina, the same town that was heavily damaged by the 2023 wildfire.
According to court documents, witnesses confronted Lytvynchuk afterward, however, he was dismissive about the entire situation.
He also brushed it off and acted like paying any fines would be no big deal for him.
His attorney claims, however, that the situation has been blown up online; he insists his client was not trying to hurt the seal.
His lawyer said Lytvynchuk thought the animal was a sea lion threatening nearby sea turtles and was trying to scare it away instead. He also said his client is familiar with sea turtles from previous trips to Hawaii, but did not recognize the monk seal species.
The attorney also claims that things escalated after the video went viral.
He says Lytvynchuk was physically attacked by another man after the incident, though he chose not to file a police report.
Since then, the lawyer says he has also been receiving death threats, had personal information shared online, and even received a suspicious package at his home that appeared to contain feces.
His lawyer also argued that people are coming down extra hard on him because he’s an outsider visiting Hawaii. 
Lytvynchuk has been charged under both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Hawaiian monk seals are critically endangered, with only around 1,600 believed to remain in the wild. If convicted, he could face up to a year in prison for each charge, along with tens of thousands of dollars in fines.
