Hawaii Senator Brenton Awa
Hawaii Senator Brenton Awa presented a Letter of Recognition to a Maui local he called an “environmental activist” last week. The letter and the honor was given to a still-unknown resident of Hawaii seen beating up a tourist who appeared to be the same man who’d thrown a large rock at Lani the Monk seal in Lahaina on May 6. (Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk 38, of Washington has now been arrested on Federal charges after rock-chucking incident.)
Awa called the vigilante an “ambassador of aloha” for taking matters into his own hands and what he viewed as educating tourists about what can happen if they mess with Hawaiian land or animals. Awa didn’t refer to the Hawaiian by name, saying they want to keep him anonymous. It appears Awa wasn’t just presenting the letter as a novelty. He suggested the footage should be shown on incoming flights, presumably as a warning to tourists.
“We see this all the time with people with a different type of mentality coming in and destroying our stuff. We’d like the airline(s) to play this type of video on all flights incoming, so that people don’t do this type of stuff,” he said.
Footage of the man throwing the rock at the seal made global headlines last week. Violating laws that protect endangered Hawaiian monk seals can bring fines of up to $50,000, however past violations have rarely been more than $500 to $1,000. Maui’s Mayor Richard Bissen shared his own message later in the week ensuring that he’d personally see the tourist prosecuted for the act.
“Our connection to the ocean, the land, and the creatures that call Hawaii home is part of who we are. Let me be clear, this is not the kind of visitor we welcome on Maui,” he said in a video statement. “Behavior like this will not be tolerated. I assure you that I will see to it personally that this individual is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Whether at the county, state, or federal level, there must be serious consequences for anybody that harms or threatens protected wildlife.”
Editor’s Note: You can watch Brenton Awa’s video here.
Not a good look for Hawaiian tourism. Photo: Screenshot
