Most of us have done a thing or two for attention, on social media or otherwise, that we later came to regret.
But one TikToker is coming away from her social media stunt with a lot more than regret--like a hefty fine and a potential criminal record.
Twenty-year-old TikToker Katie Sigmond is in hot water with Uncle Sam after filming a stunt in which she hit a golf ball off the rim of the Grand Canyon, and lost most of her club after it came apart and flew into the canyon after the ball.
See the video below.
from NationalPark
Sigmond pulled her stunt on Grand Canyon’s South Rim, east of Mather Point, one of Grand Canyon National Park's most visited spots.
Sigmond, who has more than 10 millions followers across multiple platforms, immediately drew ire from people on social media, quickly going viral for all the wrong reasons.
After receiving several reports about the incident, Grand Canyon law enforcement, the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service came after Sigmond, issuing her tickets called federal violations notices and charging her with three misdemeanor offenses.
She was charged with tossing items into the Grand Canyon, littering and creating hazardous conditions with disorderly conduct.
In the end, she was cited only for tossing the item and disorderly conduct and fined $285--a far cry from the maximum penalty of $5000 and six months in prison each offense carries.
Sigmond also had to appear at the U.S. District Court in Flagstaff, Arizona, and her case was resolved through a collateral forfeiture agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona, which effectively closes her case with only the $285 in fines and no criminal record.
Grand Canyon National Park posted a call-out of Sigmond on its Facebook page detailing the story and making sure everyone with similar plans for their visit to the Park refrains from pulling any stunts.
The park wrote:
"Do we really need to say, ‘don’t hit golf balls into the Grand Canyon?’"
And commenters were definitely on the Park's side on this one.
Jan Borden/Facebook
David Stark/Facebook
Drew Dickey/Facebook
Penny Ault/Facebook
Jeff Binder/Facebook
John R Pierson/Facebook
Paul Smith/Facebook
Kathryn Shafer/Facebook
Tim Lee-Carter/Facebook
KT Kelly/Facebook
Sigmond is only the latest person to be caught vandalizing the Grand Canyon.
Last year a man turned himself in to National Park Service authorities after being caught hitting baseballs into the canyon.
@LauraLoomer/X
