{"id":82241,"date":"2026-05-27T12:04:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T12:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T12:04:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T12:04:54","slug":"tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Tourist accused of hurling rock at endangered Hawaiian monk seal was trying to protect sea turtles, lawyer says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>The defense attorney for a tourist from Washington state <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/tourist-throws-rock-endangered-hawaii-monk-seal-arrested-us-agents\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">accused of hurling a coconut-sized rock<\/a><\/span> at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal says his client was trying to protect sea turtles and has since been physically assaulted, threatened and doxed.<\/p>\n<p>Igor Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Honolulu Wednesday on charges of harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, a witness recorded what prosecutors say was a video of him throwing the rock at a Hawaiian monk seal at a Maui beach. He later made arrangements to surrender in the Seattle area as special agents with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were seeking to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-hi\/pr\/washington-man-charged-harassing-endangered-monk-seal-lani-hurling-large-rock-her-head\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">arrest him<\/a>, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n<p>The video drew widespread condemnation and demands for prosecution in Hawaii, including from Maui&#8217;s mayor. Scientists identified the seal as an adult male known as &#8220;R404,&#8221; NOAA said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/620x406\/3ad3fd3bccdaf1ac0cbdd6eb0a809b4b\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png#\" alt=\"monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png \" height=\"406\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/620x406\/3ad3fd3bccdaf1ac0cbdd6eb0a809b4b\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png 1x\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk is charged with harassing a protected animal, the U.S. attorney&#8217;s office in Honolulu said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                Department of Justice<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>mon<\/p>\n<p>According to prosecutors, a state Department of Land and Natural Resources officer investigated a report of Hawaiian monk seal harassment in Lahaina, the community that was largely destroyed by a <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/feature\/maui-fires\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">deadly wildfire<\/a><\/span> in 2023. A witness showed the officer video of the seal swimming in shallow water while a man watched from shore.<\/p>\n<p>The video showed Lytvynchuk throwing the rock, directly at the seal, narrowly missing its head, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint.<\/p>\n<p>Maui resident Kaylee Schnitzer, 18,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaiinewsnow.com\/2026\/05\/07\/video-rock-thrown-hawaiian-monk-seal-sparks-outrage-investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told HawaiiNewsNow<\/a>\u00a0she witnessed the incident while taking photos nearby.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What he was picking up was like a rock the size of a coconut,&#8221; Schnitzer said. &#8220;It wasn&#8217;t no small rock. It was the size of a coconut. And he threw it right, directly aiming towards the monk seal&#8217;s head.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>When a witness confronted Lytvynchuk, he said &#8220;he did not care and was &#8216;rich&#8217; enough to pay any fines,&#8221; according to the complaint.<\/p>\n<p>Afterward, a man &#8220;brutally assaulted&#8221; Lytvynchuk, his defense attorney Myles Breiner told The Associated Press. Lytvynchuk declined to file a police report on the assault, the attorney said.<\/p>\n<p>Breiner explained his client had been to Hawaii previously and was familiar with sea turtles, but not Hawaiian monk seals. Lytvynchuk is a fisherman and thought the seal was an aggressive sea lion, the lawyer said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So his response was not to hurt this monk seal, but to get it away from the turtles,&#8221; Breiner said.<\/p>\n<p>The incident shows NOAA must do more to educate the public about protecting Hawaiian monk seals, Hawaii&#8217;s U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat, said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Since the video surfaced, Lytvynchuk has faced death threats and doxing, including receiving a package at his home containing what appeared to be feces, Breiner said.<\/p>\n<p>He said his client is being treated unfairly because he&#8217;s a white outsider. &#8220;The vast majority of attacks on monk seal and turtle are by locals,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Lytvynchuk is charged with violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.<\/p>\n<p>Hawaiian monk seals are a critically endangered species. Only 1,600 remain in the wild.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The unique and precious wildlife of the Hawaiian Islands are renowned symbols of Hawaii&#8217;s special place in the world and its incredible biodiversity,&#8221; U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-hi\/pr\/washington-man-charged-harassing-endangered-monk-seal-lani-hurling-large-rock-her-head\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said in a statement<\/a>. &#8220;We are committed to protecting our vulnerable wild species, in particular, endangered Hawaiian monk seals.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>If convicted, he faces up to one year in prison for each charge. He also faces a fine of up to $50,000 under the Endangered Species Act and a fine of up to $20,000 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.<\/p>\n<p>In 2016, a\u00a0<span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/outrage-after-man-caught-on-video-attacking-pregnant-seal\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">man was seen on video<\/a><\/span>\u00a0appearing to beat a pregnant Hawaiian monk seal in shallow water.<\/p>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n<\/section>\n<p>  <!-- data-recirc-source=\"queryly\" --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"component list recirculation component--type-recirculation  \">\n<p><h3 class=\"component__title\">More from CBS News<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"component__item-recirc-block\">\n<p><h3 class=\"component__title\">Go deeper with The Free Press<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n      <!-- tags --><\/p>\n<section class=\"content__tags\">\n<p class=\"content__tags__label\">In:<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/tourist-accused-hurling-rock-hawaiian-monk-seal-lawyer-speaks\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The defense attorney for a tourist from Washington state accused of hurling a coconut-sized rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":82242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[1312,446],"class_list":["post-82241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us","tag-endangered-species","tag-hawaii"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Tourist accused of hurling rock at endangered Hawaiian monk seal was trying to protect sea turtles, lawyer says - World News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A witness recorded what prosecutors say was a video of Igor Lytvynchuk throwing the rock at a Hawaiian monk seal at a Maui beach.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tourist accused of hurling rock at endangered Hawaiian monk seal was trying to protect sea turtles, lawyer says - World News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A witness recorded what prosecutors say was a video of Igor Lytvynchuk throwing the rock at a Hawaiian monk seal at a Maui beach.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-27T12:04:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png\" \/><meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"998\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"News\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2\"},\"headline\":\"Tourist accused of hurling rock at endangered Hawaiian monk seal was trying to protect sea turtles, lawyer says\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-27T12:04:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-27T12:04:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/\"},\"wordCount\":651,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=730&resize=730,383&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Endangered Species\",\"Hawaii\"],\"articleSection\":[\"U.S.\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/\",\"name\":\"Tourist accused of hurling rock at endangered Hawaiian monk seal was trying to protect sea turtles, lawyer says - World News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=730&resize=730,383&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-27T12:04:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-27T12:04:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"A witness recorded what prosecutors say was a video of Igor Lytvynchuk throwing the rock at a Hawaiian monk seal at a Maui beach.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=730&resize=730,383&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=730&resize=730,383&ssl=1\",\"width\":730,\"height\":383},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tourist accused of hurling rock at endangered Hawaiian monk seal was trying to protect sea turtles, lawyer says\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/\",\"name\":\"World News\",\"description\":\"World News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization\",\"name\":\"World News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/01\/cropped-download.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/01\/cropped-download.png\",\"width\":581,\"height\":581,\"caption\":\"World News\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2\",\"name\":\"News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tourist accused of hurling rock at endangered Hawaiian monk seal was trying to protect sea turtles, lawyer says - World News","description":"A witness recorded what prosecutors say was a video of Igor Lytvynchuk throwing the rock at a Hawaiian monk seal at a Maui beach.","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:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tourist accused of hurling rock at endangered Hawaiian monk seal was trying to protect sea turtles, lawyer says - World News","og_description":"A witness recorded what prosecutors say was a video of Igor Lytvynchuk throwing the rock at a Hawaiian monk seal at a Maui beach.","og_url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/","og_site_name":"World News","article_published_time":"2026-05-27T12:04:54+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png","type":"","width":"","height":""},{"url":"https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png","width":1920,"height":998,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"News","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/"},"author":{"name":"News","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2"},"headline":"Tourist accused of hurling rock at endangered Hawaiian monk seal was trying to protect sea turtles, lawyer says","datePublished":"2026-05-27T12:04:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-27T12:04:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/"},"wordCount":651,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=730&resize=730,383&ssl=1","keywords":["Endangered Species","Hawaii"],"articleSection":["U.S."],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/","name":"Tourist accused of hurling rock at endangered Hawaiian monk seal was trying to protect sea turtles, lawyer says - World News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=730&resize=730,383&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-05-27T12:04:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-27T12:04:54+00:00","description":"A witness recorded what prosecutors say was a video of Igor Lytvynchuk throwing the rock at a Hawaiian monk seal at a Maui beach.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=730&resize=730,383&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=730&resize=730,383&ssl=1","width":730,"height":383},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/tourist-accused-of-hurling-rock-at-endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-was-trying-to-protect-sea-turtles-lawyer-says\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tourist accused of hurling rock at endangered Hawaiian monk seal was trying to protect sea turtles, lawyer says"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/","name":"World News","description":"World News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization","name":"World News","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/01\/cropped-download.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/01\/cropped-download.png","width":581,"height":581,"caption":"World News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2","name":"News","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1","medium":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1","medium_large":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=768&resize=768,0&ssl=1","large":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1","1536x1536":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=1536&resize=1536,1536&ssl=1","2048x2048":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=2048&resize=2048,2048&ssl=1","colormag-highlighted-post":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=392&resize=392,272&ssl=1","colormag-featured-post-medium":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=390&resize=390,205&ssl=1","colormag-featured-post-small":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=130&resize=130,90&ssl=1","colormag-featured-image":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=800&resize=800,445&ssl=1","colormag-default-news":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1","colormag-featured-image-large":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=1400&resize=1400,600&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-block-extra-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=1155&resize=1155,480&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=600&resize=600,417&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-small-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=285&resize=285,450&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-medium-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=575&resize=575,198&ssl=1"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"News","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e85cf08852547781a5f631f3713dbb5197ed4b54e32ae19c7d5769b8c8504897?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":false,"magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"The defense attorney for a tourist from Washington state accused of hurling a coconut-sized rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["U.S."],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":5,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":4,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=730&resize=730,383&ssl=1",730,383,false],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1",300,300,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/05\/14\/e6c88574-ca6b-43d3-8e19-fe0beac15b26\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/5458b96ad4f7be15aaa24b0e53ef4258\/monk-seal-screenshot-2026-05-14-060640.png?w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1",150,150,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"News","author_link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/author\/admin\/"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e85cf08852547781a5f631f3713dbb5197ed4b54e32ae19c7d5769b8c8504897?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-33\">U.S.<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}