Pierce Brosnan Faces Charges After Allegedly Trespassing at Yellowstone

Pierce Brosnan with his wife Keely Shaye Smith pose on the red carpet of 29th European Film Awards on December 10, 2016 in Wroclaw, Poland. Janek Skarzynski/AFP/Getty Images

Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan could face possible jail time after he allegedly walked into Yellowstone National Park’s restricted hydrothermal areas, according to newly unsealed court documents.

A criminal docket filed in the U.S. District Court in Wyoming on Tuesday shows that the “GoldenEye” star received citations for traveling by foot “in all thermal areas and ... in Yellowstone Canyon confined to trails” and for also “violating closures and use limits” on Nov. 1, according to multiple news reports. Both citations were listed as petty offenses, and he’s been ordered to appear at the Yellowstone Justice Center next month.

Mr. Brosnan is accused of allegedly leaving the boardwalk area to enter restricted grounds, according to the charging documents.

The offense is punishable by as many as six months in jail and a maximum fine of $5,000, it was reported.

The 70-year-old “Mamma Mia!” actor hasn’t released a statement about the matter. Representatives for the actor also haven’t responded to multiple media outlets’ requests for comment. Yellowstone officials also have not publicly commented on the charges.

The Epoch Times sent a request for comment to his social media accounts Thursday.

Mr. Brosnan was filming his latest feature, “Unholy Trinity,” which also features Samuel L. Jackson, at the Yellowstone Film Ranch. It’s not clear if he entered the restricted Yellowstone area while filming.

However, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Wyoming told AP that Mr. Brosnan was in the park on a personal visit and not for film work.

Charging documents said that he walked into a restricted section of Mammoth Terraces, a scenic spot of mineral-encrusted hot springs bubbling from a hillside. They’re just some of the park’s hundreds of thermal features, which range from spouting geysers to gurgling mud pots, with water at or near the boiling point.

Deadly Consequences

Going out-of-bounds in such areas can be dangerous: a small portion of the millions of people who visit Yellowstone each year get badly burned by ignoring warnings not to stray off the trail. Over the years, dozens of people have died in the thermal areas.

Yellowstone’s website advises travelers that they should stay on the boardwalks and trials because they can “protect you and delicate thermal formation.”

“Always walk on boardwalks and designated trails,” the site says. “Keep children close and do not let them run on boardwalks.”

It then warned that swimming or soaking in hot springs is illegal, noting that more than 20 people have died “from burns suffered after they entered or fell into Yellowstone’s hot springs.” Some of the pools and hot springs can contain significant amounts of sulfuric acid, which can burn anyone exposed to it.

In a particularly gruesome incident in 2016, a 23-year-old man died after trying to illegally soak in one of Yellowstone’s thermal pools. An incident report released at the time said that the man died by dissolving in boiling, highly acidic water.

In June, a woman was seen on video crying in pain after putting her hand into Yellowstone’s Silex Spring. The clip was uploaded onto Instagram.

View the Crested Pool hot spring in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, on May 14, 2016. Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

“Toxic gases may accumulate to dangerous levels in some hydrothermal areas. If you begin to feel sick while exploring one of our geyser basins, leave the area immediately,” it says.

Getting caught can bring legal peril too, with jail time, hefty fines, and bans from the park handed down to trespassers regularly.

In addition to his four James Bond films, Brosnan starred in the 1980s TV series “Remington Steele,” and is known for starring roles in the films “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “The Thomas Crown Affair.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.