{"id":651,"date":"2026-05-28T04:34:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T04:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=651"},"modified":"2026-05-28T04:34:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T04:34:42","slug":"accused-monk-seal-harasser-stays-silent-after-federal-court-appearance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=651","title":{"rendered":"Accused monk seal harasser stays silent after federal court appearance"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<section>\n<p>HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) &#8211; The Washington man caught on video throwing a rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal appeared for the first time in a Honolulu federal courtroom Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=649\">\u2018Really inspiring\u2019: Rainbow Wahine to compete in NCAA Track and Field Championships<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Igor Lytvynchuk, 38, entered not guilty pleas for the two misdemeanor charges he faces.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time since the incident, news cameras caught him outside of the federal courthouse. <\/p>\n<p>When asked if he wanted to make a comment or apologize to the people of Hawaii, he stayed silent and attorneys said, \u201cNo comment.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>His silent and quiet demeanor was seemingly a complete change for the man who reportedly said he was \u201crich enough to pay fines\u201d after video caught him throwing the rock at the seal on May 5 in Lahaina.<\/p>\n<p>His case will be heard by federal magistrate judge Rom Trader.<\/p>\n<p>Cameras aren\u2019t allowed in federal court, but the proceeding lasted less than half an hour.<\/p>\n<p>Judge Trader banned Lytvynchuk from visiting beaches or approaching wildlife while in Hawaii.<\/p>\n<p>The 38-year-old made few comments aside from answering the judge to confirm he understood the process.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=647\">The Rally Point: The importance of mental health care for combat soldiers<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In attendance were animal protection advocates, who were outraged by the video.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe wicked man in me would\u2019ve rushed him,\u201d animal advocate Tex said. \u201cRespect our Hawaiian wildlife.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fellow advocate Sweet T added, \u201cI\u2019m happy that it\u2019s spread and like I said, I hope he is the example to other entitled tourist to come here and \u2014 don\u2019t do what he did.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Defense attorney Myles Breiner previously told Hawaii News Now Lytvynchuk chucked the rock to scare it away from resting sea turtles, saying he thought he was doing something good. But instead, he set off a firestorm of outrage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThrowing the rock was over the top and I\u2019m glad that it was caught on video so hopefully this guy is the example what not to do when you come to visit our islands,\u201d Sweet T added. <\/p>\n<p>Lytvynchuk is out on a $25,000 bond, but must follow conditions of supervised release.<\/p>\n<p>His next court date has been set for Wednesday, June 9, at 10 a.m. However the judge waived the requirement for him to appear in person, so instead, he will likely appear via teleconference from Washington.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=645\">Police search for armed and dangerous man; Suspect in three homicides in Puna area<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<h2>Previous coverage<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Igor Lytvynchuk, 38, entered not guilty pleas for two misdemeanor charges after being caught on video throwing a rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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