A tourist in Hawaii who was caught on camera hurling a rock at an endangered monk seal believes he has been shamed in the public eye because he is a white man, his lawyer says. 

Igor Lytvynchuk, 38, from Washington state, claimed through his defense attorney that the incident was a misunderstanding and alleged he was trying to scare the seal away from some protected turtles he saw swimming nearby.

Footage of the incident from May 5 sparked backlash across social media after it showed Lytvynchuk throwing a coconut-sized rock at the seal, narrowly missing its head. 

Prosecutors charged him with harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal. Lytvynchuk is set to be hauled into a Honolulu courtroom on Wednesday as he faces up to a year in prison. 

Prosecutors say he was caught after an investigator with the Department of Land and Natural Resources was shown a video of the rock throw at Lahaina.

The video showed a bystander confronting Lytvynchuk, who responded that he 'did not care and was rich enough to pay any fines', per the criminal complaint against him. 

His attorney Myles Breiner claims that Lytvynchuk was 'brutally assaulted' after word got out about his behavior and that he has been inundated with death threats and was even mailed a package of feces.

Breiner said he believes his client is being treated unfairly because he is a white outsider who is not familiar with Hawaii. 

'The vast majority of attacks on monk seal and turtle are by locals,' Breiner said. 

He added that Lytvynchuk has previously visited Hawaii to watch sea turtles but was not familiar with monk seals and believed the animal in the sea was an aggressive sea lion. 

Breiner said Lytvynchuk threw the rock to try and move the monk seal away from the turtles, believing they were in danger at the time. 

'So his response was not to hurt this monk seal, but to get it away from the turtles,' Breiner alleged. 

However, his claims that he was protecting the seal were countered by witness Kaylee Schnitzer, who filmed the incident. 

She reportedly told investigators that the seal had been playing on a log before the rock was thrown and said the animal was 'clearly not aggressive.'

Lytvynchuk faces charges under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which carry potential fines of up to $50,000 and $20,000 respectively. 

If convicted of harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal, he faces up to one year in prison on each charge.

US Attorney Ken Sorenson said in a statement: 'The unique and precious wildlife of the Hawaiian Islands are renowned symbols of Hawaii’s special place in the world and its incredible biodiversity.

'We pledge that those who harass and attempt to harm our protected wildlife will face rapid accountability in federal court.'