A woman who created a video of herself hitting a golf ball into the Grand Canyon before sharing it to her seven million TikTok followers has been fined.
Katie Sigmond later removed the video of the incident, which happened on 26 October, but her actions received considerable backlash on social media after the National Park Service (NPS) posted her original video on its Reddit page.
influencer_hitting_golf_ball_and_losing_golf_club from r/NationalPark
Later, a statement was also posted on Grand Canyon National Park's Facebook page, which began: "Do we really need to say, 'don't hit golf balls into the Grand Canyon?” and revealed that members of the public had helped identify the culprit as the prominent TikTok influencer who, among other content, posts clips demonstrating her ball-driving ability.
According to the New York Times, the 20-year-old’s recent stunt saw her initially charged with littering, tossing items into the Grand Canyon and creating hazardous conditions with disorderly conduct after admitting to park rangers that she was the culprit. Eventually, the case was resolved in an out-of-court agreement that handed Sigmond a fine. While the size of the penalty has not been disclosed, spokesperson for Grand Canyon National Park’s Office of Public Affairs, Joelle Baird, explained that in similar cases, fines can reach approximately $280.
Meanwhile, Baird explained that the incident is far from a one-off where it comes to objects being thrown into the Grand Canyon. She said: “You name it, and people throw it over the canyon. It’s one of these things that unfortunately happens time and time again.”
The National Park Service websitedetails the dangers of throwing objects in the Grand Canyon. It says: "Never throw rocks, coins, trash, or anything else over the edge. Objects tossed over the edge or dislodged by walking off trail can injure hikers and wildlife below, or start landslides".
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