Man accused of throwing rock at endangered seal appears in court

Añadido: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]Covington man accused of throwing a large rock at an endangered monk seal in Hawaii appeared in federal court in Seattle today. These are the sketched images of him from inside the courtroom since cameras are not allowed inside.

[00:00:12]And this right here, this is a live look from outside the courthouse where we are still waiting for him to come out as we speak. King 5's Madison Wade joins us now with what we know. Madison.

[00:00:21]>> Well, Madeline, you've probably seen this video of that man hurling a large rock at the monk seal in the water in Maui. Investigators say that man is 38-year-old Makalio Len Venten Chuck from Covington. These are new sketches of him from federal court today. He is facing multiple federal charges out of Hawaii, but was arrested here in Seattle yesterday after returning to Washington.

[00:00:44]King 5 has a crew who's been waiting outside the courthouse for about 2 hours after the hearing to confront him, but he still has not come out. facing two federal charges under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Court documents show the seal, known locally as Lani, was swimming in the shallow water when the man picked up a rock the size of a coconut, hurled it directly at her head.

[00:01:08]When confronted, the man walked away without checking on the seal, telling witnesses he didn't care and was {quote} rich enough to pay any fines. Well, many locals say this is just another incident of tourists not respecting their home and the native wildlife.

[00:01:24]A lot of tourists think like, you know, this is their vacation time. They don't really realize that like this is our home.

[00:01:35]We are continuing to follow this outside of the courthouse to see at any moment he might appear. His next court appearance is in 2 weeks in Honolulu. If convicted, he does face up to 2 years in prison and about $70,000 in fine.