{"id":405,"date":"2026-05-18T09:06:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T09:06:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405"},"modified":"2026-05-18T09:06:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T09:06:54","slug":"tourist-threw-rock-at-hawaiian-monk-seal-to-protect-turtles-attorney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405","title":{"rendered":"Tourist Threw Rock at Hawaiian Monk Seal to Protect Turtles: Attorney"},"content":{"rendered":"

A man seen throwing a rock toward an endangered Hawaiian monk seal did so to protect turtles and is “devastated” that people might think he wanted to hurt wildlife, his defense attorney has said.<\/p>

Read more Thousands in New York, Maryland, California To Stay Inside Over Air Quality<\/a><\/p>

According to a criminal complaint unsealed last week, Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, from Washington, was seen and filmed on May 5, 2026, walking along the shoreline in the Lahaina area of Maui while following the movements of a Hawaiian monk seal known as Lani. The incident gained widespread attention after a witness posted video footage online.<\/p>

The complaint alleges that Lytvynchuk then picked up a large rock, aimed it at the seal and threw it toward Lani\u2019s head. Authorities said the rock narrowly missed the seal\u2019s nose, startling the animal and causing it to rear out of the water.<\/p>

Lytvynchuk\u2019s attorney, Myles Breiner, has publicly defended his client. “I want to be resoundingly clear to the public \u2014 he never intended to injure the monk seal,” Breiner told KHON-TV.<\/p>

Breiner said Lytvynchuk believed he was trying to protect sea turtles that were resting on rocks near the shoreline.<\/p>

“He wanted to scare the seal away from the honu he saw there,” Breiner said. “Apparently, there were two large turtles and one had already been knocked off the rock by the seal.”<\/p>

Read more Kyle Rittenhouse Volunteers for Thomas Massie, Sparks MAGA Fury<\/a><\/p>

\n
\"Left:<\/figure>\n<\/div>
…<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>

According to Breiner, Lytvynchuk was unaware that Hawaiian monk seals are endangered and was influenced by previous experiences with aggressive sea lions while fishing in Washington state.<\/p>

“Sea lions are very aggressive,” Breiner said. “They\u2019ll take your bait, they\u2019ll take your fish \u2014 that\u2019s been his experience.”<\/p>

Asked in a separate interview if Lytvynchuk was apologetic, Breiner told Hawaii News Now, “absolutely, no, he’s devastated at the notion that people thought he wanted to injure the seal.”<\/p>

“He was doing something good by scarring it away.”<\/p>

Lytvynchuk’s first court appearance is scheduled to take place in Honolulu on May 27.<\/p>

Read more Patriots WR Isn\u2019t Showing Up to Voluntary OTAs Amid AJ Brown Trade Rumors<\/a><\/p>

This is a developing story; updates to follow.<\/em><\/p><\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Igor Lytvynchuk “was doing something good“ and is “devastated“ at the backlash to video footage, his attorney said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTourist Threw Rock at Hawaiian Monk Seal to Protect Turtles: Attorney - US Relocation Post<\/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:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tourist Threw Rock at Hawaiian Monk Seal to Protect Turtles: Attorney - US Relocation Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Igor Lytvynchuk “was doing something good“ and is “devastated“ at the backlash to video footage, his attorney said.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"US Relocation Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-18T09:06:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/740d60e40e73e36295227a5e50ade551.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/?p=405#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/?p=405\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e0d67e3b0d3c1ffefd8ff92add2033bd\"},\"headline\":\"Tourist Threw Rock at Hawaiian Monk Seal to Protect Turtles: Attorney\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-18T09:06:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/?p=405\"},\"wordCount\":377,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/?p=405#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/740d60e40e73e36295227a5e50ade551.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/?p=405#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/?p=405\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/?p=405\",\"name\":\"Tourist Threw Rock at Hawaiian Monk Seal to Protect Turtles: Attorney - US Relocation Post\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/?p=405#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/?p=405#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/740d60e40e73e36295227a5e50ade551.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-18T09:06:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e0d67e3b0d3c1ffefd8ff92add2033bd\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/?p=405#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/?p=405\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/?p=405#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/740d60e40e73e36295227a5e50ade551.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/740d60e40e73e36295227a5e50ade551.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/?p=405#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tourist Threw Rock at Hawaiian Monk Seal to Protect Turtles: Attorney\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"US Relocation Post\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e0d67e3b0d3c1ffefd8ff92add2033bd\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usrelocationpost.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tourist Threw Rock at Hawaiian Monk Seal to Protect Turtles: Attorney - US Relocation Post","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tourist Threw Rock at Hawaiian Monk Seal to Protect Turtles: Attorney - US Relocation Post","og_description":"Igor Lytvynchuk “was doing something good“ and is “devastated“ at the backlash to video footage, his attorney said.","og_url":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405","og_site_name":"US Relocation Post","article_published_time":"2026-05-18T09:06:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/740d60e40e73e36295227a5e50ade551.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e0d67e3b0d3c1ffefd8ff92add2033bd"},"headline":"Tourist Threw Rock at Hawaiian Monk Seal to Protect Turtles: Attorney","datePublished":"2026-05-18T09:06:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405"},"wordCount":377,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/740d60e40e73e36295227a5e50ade551.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405","url":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405","name":"Tourist Threw Rock at Hawaiian Monk Seal to Protect Turtles: Attorney - US Relocation Post","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/740d60e40e73e36295227a5e50ade551.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-18T09:06:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e0d67e3b0d3c1ffefd8ff92add2033bd"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/740d60e40e73e36295227a5e50ade551.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/740d60e40e73e36295227a5e50ade551.webp","width":1200,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?p=405#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tourist Threw Rock at Hawaiian Monk Seal to Protect Turtles: Attorney"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/","name":"US Relocation Post","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e0d67e3b0d3c1ffefd8ff92add2033bd","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/usrelocationpost.com"],"url":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usrelocationpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}