Hageman Wants Answers About Prosecution Of Grand Teton Trail Runner

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. House Judiciary Committee member Harriet Hageman of Wyoming is investigating the prosecution of Idaho ultrarunner Michelino Sunseri for going off a trail in Grand Teton National Park.

Hageman and another committee Republican, U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, sent a letter Wednesday to Stephanie Sprecher, the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming. The letter asks for “all documents and communications” relating to the office’s decision-making in the case.

Sunseri, 33, a professional mountain runner and a bartender, is awaiting a verdict on a misdemeanor charge. In June he had a bench trial — meaning a non-jury trial — before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie Hambrick in Wyoming’s federal court.

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.

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 and Biggs wrote in the letter.

“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.

1,000 Hours Service, Ban From Park?

Hageman and Biggs suggested Sprecher’s office might not be complying with an executive order by President Donald Trump which, in the lawmakers’ paraphrasing, seeks to rein in “the criminalization of technical and unintentional regulatory violations that may expose individuals to criminal penalties for conduct they did not know was prohibited.”

Added Hageman and Biggs in the letter: “On the morning of Mr. Sunseri’s trial, prosecutors from your office offered Mr. Sunseri several plea agreements, including a purported offer of 1,000 hours of community service and a one- to five-year ban from Grand Teton National Park. 

“In response to this offer, Mr. Sunseri’s attorney proposed modifying the service requirement to 60 hours and limiting the park restriction to the area implicated by the alleged conduct. Rather than accepting a proportionate resolution that aligned with President Trump’s directive to federal prosecutors, your office instead decided to commit significant prosecutorial resources to a bench trial.”

NPS Reversal

The lawmakers allege in the letter that prosecutors have pursued their case even after the NPS withdrew support for prosecuting Sunseri.

The lawmakers’ letter is loaded with footnotes referencing dozens of filings in the case.

Lori Hogan, a public affairs officer for Sprecher’s office, confirmed receipt of the Hageman-Biggs letter.

“Our U.S. Attorney received the letter and stated that she has an ethical obligation that prohibits her from commenting on any ongoing litigation before the court,” Hogan wrote in a Thursday email to Cowboy State Daily. “The judge has yet to rule in the Sunseri case; therefore, she will not discuss it,”

Asked specifically whether Sprecher’s office planned to comply with the request for internal records, Hogan did not reply.

The letter gives a deadline of July 30 to produce the requested for the records.

The request for records is exhaustive and does not stop with Sunseri’s case.

Exploring Sprecher’s priorities, the request includes records “referring or relating to the criminal cases the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming declined to prosecute since the initiation of the Sunseri case.”

The letter seeks records on “internal policies” and the tax money spent on the Sunseri case, among other things.

“Although this prosecution initiated before you began as the Acting U.S. Attorney, we appreciate your assistance with our oversight,” the letter says.

Alex Reinzie, a Jackson-based lawyer for Sunseri, declined to comment on Hageman’s letter when reached by phone Thursday.

Sean Barry can be reached at sean@cowboystatedaily.com.