Pierce Brosnan has pleaded not guilty to illegal hiking in Yellowstone.
The actor of James Bond fame entered his plea via a paper filing Jan. 4 in the U.S. District Court for Wyoming, and asked the court to cancel a Jan. 23 court hearing which he would have been required to attend in person.
Brosnan’s attorney Karl Knuchel filed the not-guilty plea on Brosnan’s behalf.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie A. Hambrick on Wednesday granted Brosnan’s request to cancel his initial appearance hearing, setting a virtual status conference for Feb. 20 instead.
The status conference is, at this juncture, meant to prepare the parties for a trial.
Beautiful And Deadly
The U.S. Attorney for Wyoming cited Brosnan on Dec. 26, over two alleged infractions from Nov. 1.
One citation says the actor was walking in a thermal area. The other says he wandered into the Mammoth Terraces, a hilly conglomerate of hot springs mineral tiers, while the feature was closed to the public.
Yellowstone’s thermal features are both delicate and dangerous. When disturbed, they can take years to self-correct. Tourists have also died by falling into Yellowstone's scalding pools.
A 70-year-old Los Angeles man is believed to have used the West Thumb Geyser Basin to kill himself in 2022. Authorities found his foot bobbing in the pool that August.
A 49-year-old Michigan man who was reportedly drunk was banned from Yellowstone last year after veering off a Yellowstone trail and burning himself.
Unholy
Brosnan was in the area filming “The Unholy Trinity,” a Western starring Brosnan as a sheriff. Samuel L. Jackson also stars in the upcoming film, according to imdb.com.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
