Actor Pierce Brosnan Pleads Guilty To Walking On Yellowstone Thermal

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS -- British actor Pierce Brosnan got his day in U.S. District Court on Thursday to answer for an off-the-boardwalk Instagram photo at Mammoth Hot Springs that attracted worldwide media attention.

He told the court he’s felt “embarrassed” and “ashamed” since the violation was publicized everywhere. And ultimately, the apologetic James Bond actor escaped relatively unscathed.

Brosnan appeared via Zoom for the plea hearing at the Yellowstone Justice Center in Mammoth, represented by his attorney, Karl Krunchel. He agreed to plead guilty to foot travel in a thermal area, a Class B misdemeanor, and agreed to pay a $5,000 fine and two years of unsupervised probation.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie A. Hambrick decided to be more lenient with Brosnan, only sentencing him to pay $1,500 without any probation.

“I’m sure you will not be doing this behavior again,” she told Brosnan. “I’m convinced you’ve learned your lesson.”

United States vs Pierce Brosnan

Brosnan appeared in the Yellowstone Justice Center’s courtroom shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday. Brosnan and Krunchel appeared remotely, given their distance from Mammoth Hot Springs.

Krunchel bantered with his client, asking if he was in the middle of shooting a film. Brosnan said he wasn’t, but has three upcoming projects lined up, including an adaptation of the book “The Thursday Murder Club” with Helen Mirren and Ben Kingsley.

Brosnan also asked Krunchel if he had ever appeared before Judge Hambrick before. Krunchel said he had, describing her as “a very good judge.”

The conversation abruptly ended when Hambrick entered the courtroom and the hearing began. It was Brosnan’s first court appearance since he was cited for the incident Nov. 1, 2023.

Brosnan was visiting Yellowstone with his sons and two friends when he stepped over the boardwalk to take a photo standing on Palette Springs at Mammoth Hot Springs. The photo was posted on Brosnan’s Instagram account, which has more than 2 million followers.

Brosnan was cited for two infractions: foot travel in a thermal area and a closure violation. As part of the plea agreement, the second charge was dropped without prejudice.

When asked how he was pleading, Brosnan simply answered, “Guilty, your honor.”

Foolish, Embarrassed, Ashamed

Brosnan may be an internationally-renowned actor, but nobody in the courtroom believed he was performing Thursday morning. He repeatedly expressed remorse for his actions, saying he was “highly embarrassed and ashamed.”

“It was a foolish, foolish, impulsive thing to do with my sons,” he said. “I wasn’t fully aware then, but I am absolutely 100% aware now.”

That day, Brosnan said he was “so engrossed with the beauty of the landscape” and wanted to get pictures of the “beautiful rock formations” to share with his wife, Keely Shaye. That’s when he stepped over the boardwalk to pose on the snow-covered Palette Springs.

Krunchel asked Brosnan a few questions, specifically about the signage in the area. Brosnan said he saw “no sign before me” before he “foolishly stepped over the fence.”

In his defense, the short stretch of boardwalk between Palette Springs and the parking lot near Liberty Cap is nearly devoid of cautionary signage except at the entrance, and there are no cautionary signs in the immediate vicinity where Brosnan stepped off.

“If I had known or seen that sign, I never would have done it,” he said.

Brosnan said his wife informed him of his recklessness, and he was “thoroughly distressed” once he learned he had broken the law and potentially damaged the thermal feature.

More Accidental Than Egregious

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariel Calmes pulled up Brosnan’s photo as an exhibit during the hearing. She told Hambrick that Yellowstone rangers described Palette Spring as “one of the most fragile thermal features” in the entire park.

Calmes described Brosnan’s actions as “somewhere in the middle of accidental and egregious.” However, she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Calmes pointed out that the Palette Springs photo was one of several Brosnan posted in an Instagram carousel, and it wasn’t the primary picture in the post. That, for Calmes and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, convinced them of the “accidental nature” of the incident.

“It wasn’t the first photograph, and you had to scroll through the others to see it,” she said. “There was no mention of where he was.”

In similar cases, social media can be an “aggravating factor” that adds to the severity of the incident. Calmes didn’t believe that was necessary in this case, especially since Brosnan deleted the photo less than a week after it was posted.

Calmes contrasted Brosnan’s actions to another extremely egregious incident at Palette Spring, where a man was seen “jumping up and down” on the thermal feature and “tearing it up” deliberately in front of dozens of witnesses. That person had to be removed by law enforcement and faced imprisonment.

Meanwhile, Brosnan “went over the boardwalk and immediately stepped back,” and the incident was only witnessed by his sons and two friends. That’s why jail was never considered in his case.

“Mr. Brosnan isn’t proud of himself,” she said. “We’ve seen his remorse. It’s genuine.”

Krunchel agreed with this assessment, emphasizing that his client “wouldn’t have posted anything” if he had known the seriousness of his actions.

No Evil Intent

The prosecution and defense accepted the plea agreement of a $5,000 fine and two years of unsupervised probation, with a concurrent two-year ban from Yellowstone National Park. Hambrick accepted the plea, but not the exact terms of the agreement.

Hambrick acknowledged that she had an opportunity to make a much wider impact in Brosnan’s case, given his celebrity status and the heightened visibility of this case.

“Rarely do I have (the opportunity) to reach so many people as I do in your case,” she said.

However, she believed the $5,000 fine was too much and driven more by Brosnan’s notoriety than the severity of his actions. She acknowledged that he had “no evil intent,” like dozens of others cited and sentenced for similar offenses.

“It’s not fair to punish you because we think you have a lot of money,” she said.

Hambrick decided to “skip over parts of the general lecture” she gives to defendants in similar situations. She believed he has since learned more about the delicate nature of thermal features and why the park prosecutes such violations.

Ultimately, Hambrick sentenced Brosnan to a $1,500 fine, $500 to the U.S. Treasury and a $1,000 community service payment to the Yellowstone Forever Geologic Protection Fund. Brosnan was welcome to make a larger donation to the fund “if he’d like.”

Hambrick also waived the two-year probation, saying she “didn’t see the need” given Brosnan’s genuine remorse and apology.

Courteous throughout the hearing, Brosnan cited his lifelong support for many conservation causes, adding to his shame and remorse for his actions in Yellowstone. He apologized for “causing such distress” to his wife, his Instagram followers, and everyone who saw and was upset by the photo.

Brosnan agreed “100%” to the community service payment and ended his public comments with a final, “Thank you, your honor.”

With that, Hambrick sent the court into recess and the hearing ended.

Brosnan has 14 days to appeal his sentence, but there was no indication he intends to do so. His total fine of $1,540 (including court fees) is due by April 1, but he indicated he intended to pay it in full “immediately.”

Andrew Rossi can be reached at: ARossi@CowboyStateDaily.com