Photo: Department of Justice
The attorney for a Washington businessman caught on a viral video allegedly throwing a rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal is speaking out, claiming his client was actually trying to protect local sea turtles.
Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, was arrested near Seattle last week following widespread public outrage over the footage. The Department of Justice has charged the Covington, Washington, resident with harassing and attempting to harass an endangered animal under both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. If convicted, Lytvynchuk faces up to a year in prison per charge and tens of thousands of dollars in fines, News.Az reports, citing FOX News.
The incident occurred on a Maui beach earlier this month, where witnesses filmed a man throwing a rock toward the head of the rare marine mammal. However, defense attorney Myles Breiner argues the footage doesn't tell the whole story, insisting Lytvynchuk never intended to harm the seal.
According to Breiner, his client was attempting to scare the monk seal away from two green sea turtles, known locally as honu, resting on the shoreline. The defense claims the seal had already knocked one turtle off the rocks. Furthermore, Breiner stated that Lytvynchuk, who owns a Washington-based logistics company, did not know the seals were endangered and was reacting based on past experiences with aggressive sea lions while fishing in the Pacific Northwest.
The defense is also pushing back against a particularly damning detail in the prosecution's complaint. Witnesses on the beach claimed that when they confronted Lytvynchuk, he boasted he was "rich enough to pay the fines." Breiner disputes this characterization, arguing the statement was misinterpreted and that his client simply said, "I can afford it."
While Lytvynchuk plans to take responsibility for violating the law, his legal team maintains the incident was a poorly judged attempt to intervene in local wildlife dynamics rather than a malicious attack.
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