President Donald Trump on Friday pardoned a record-setting mountain runner prosecuted by the National Park Service and convicted by a federal judge for trespassing on a trail that was “closed for regrowth” last September in Grand Teton National Park.
The pardon of Michelino Sunseri comes after Wyoming Republican U.S. House Rep. Harriet Hageman said she was investigating the case as a possible instance of overzealous prosecution.
"We are thrilled that Michelino's nightmare is over, but we're not done fighting against unconstitutional regulations that give low-level park officials the power to criminalize harmless conduct," said Michael Poon, an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation, which defended Sunseri. "We are ready to help other Americans who face criminal prosecution for breaking park rules that were illegally created."
Sunseri on Sept. 2, 2024, set a new Grand Teton speed record, ascending and descending the mountain in 2 hours, 50 minutes and 10 seconds—almost three minutes faster than the previous record, says a Monday statement by Pacific Legal.
The accomplishment “drew admiration across the climbing and trail-running world,” the statement says.
Days later, Wyoming-based federal prosecutors charged him with a crime for running on a “restricted” social trail.
That’s a trail, the statement asserts, that other record-holders had used without consequence.
Sunseri fought back with Pacific Legal Foundation and attorneys Alex Rienzie and Ed Bushnell.
Sunseri did not immediately respond to a Monday request for comment.
Hageman’s Cause
Sunseri, who maintains a large social media presence, has never denied cutting the switchback during a run in the national park on Sept. 2, 2024. The resident of Driggs, Idaho, just west of the Wyoming border even noted this move in an online post that showed his route.
Sunseri said he made the fastest-ever climb and descent of Grand Teton that day, Cowboy State Daily reported previously.
It was his disclosure of the switchback cut that caught the National Park Service’s attention.
The NPS issued him a citation for going off trail. The citation is a misdemeanor, carrying a maximum $5,000 fine and/or six months in jail.
Hageman said the cut-through was actually an “alternate path” and she questions his prosecution.
“Following his citation, Mr. Sunseri took responsibility for his actions, expressed regret, and volunteered to help officially close the alternate path, which receives regular foot traffic,” Hageman wrote in a joint letter with U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, of Arizona, in July.
“Despite these mitigating factors and attempts by Mr. Sunseri to settle the case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming filed criminal charges on Oct. 10, 2024,” they wrote.
Old Climber's Trail
Sunseri in May stood for a “bench” trial, or trial where the judge issues verdict rather than a jury.
The evidence showed that Sunseri had used the “Old Climber’s Trail,” a switchback the National Park Service has always kept closed, court documents say. Around the time of Sunseri’s run, a small sign read “closed for regrowth.”
Sunseri argued back that the trail was an “established” trail and so, some of the signage around it creates confusion and prevents visitors from knowing which conduct is prohibited.
The charge he faced was unconstitutionally vague, Sunseri argued.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie Hambrick found Sunseri guilty Sept. 2 of this year.
He was awaiting a hearing when the pardon was issued Friday.
Wyoming’s new, Trump-appointed federal prosecutor Darin Smith through Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariel Calmes filed an Oct. 17 request with the court — in collaboration with Sunseri’s attorneys — asking for Hambrick to cancel Sunseri’s sentencing hearing and set a status hearing instead.
The prosecutors and defense attorneys had agreed to let Sunseri have a deferral. That is a program usually involving probation and other consequences or remedies, which a person can complete and, if he’s successful, his conviction falls off his record.
Hambrick had vacated the sentencing hearing to allow that negotiation to unfold.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
