This undated drivers license photo provided by the U.S. District Court of Hawaii shows Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, from Washington state, who is accused of throwing a coconut-sized rock at a Hawaiian monk seal. (U.S. District Court of Hawaii)

The man from Washington state who’s accused of throwing a large rock at a Hawaiian monk seal off Maui has been formally charged in federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson announced Tuesday that Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, was charged by information with violating the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act by allegedly harassing and attempting to harm an endangered Hawaiian monk seal.

According to court records, Lytvynchuk was filmed May 5 along the shoreline in Lahaina tracking the movements of a Hawaiian monk seal as it pushed a floating log near shore.

Prosecutors allege he picked up a large rock and, for no apparent reason, threw it directly at the seal’s head, narrowly missing the critically endangered animal and causing it to rear out of the water.

Witnesses told investigators that after being confronted, Lytvynchuk responded that he was “rich enough to pay the fines.”

Lytvynchuk initially was charged by criminal complaint May 12 and arrested the following day near Seattle by special agents with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Lytvynchuk is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Honolulu on Wednesday.

According to the Associated Press, defense attorney Myles Breiner said his client believed the animal was an aggressive sea lion threatening sea turtles and did not intend to harm the monk seal.

“So his response was not to hurt this monk seal, but to get it away from the turtles,” Breiner told the AP.

Breiner also told the AP that Lytvynchuk has received death threats, been doxed and was physically assaulted after the video circulated online. He said his client declined to file a police report regarding the alleged assault.

The video of the rock-throwing incident has drawn widespread condemnation, including calls for prosecution from Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen and many others. While the seal was initially believed to be “Lani,” a fixture on the Lahaina shoreline, scientists have identified the seal as an adult male known as “R404,” according to NOAA.

Hawaiian monk seals are critically endangered, with about 1,600 remaining in the wild.

If convicted, Lytvynchuk faces up to one year in prison on each charge, fines of up to $50,000 under the Endangered Species Act and up to $20,000 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, along with additional penalties under federal law.

“Today’s charges against Igor Lytvynchuk demonstrate our solemn commitment to not only protect Hawaii’s endangered monk seals, but all of our unique and endangered wildlife species from those who illegally harass, injure, or attempt to take them in defiance of federal law,” Sorenson said in a statement.

The NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Nammar is prosecuting the case.