Two minor federal charges against actor Pierce Brosnan were pending Friday, with a status conference held by telephone on February 20.
Brosnan was accused of illegally leaving walkways near Mammoth Terraces Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park on November 1, 2023. The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Wyoming in late December 2023 after a photo that appeared to depict Brosnan standing in the snow near the hot spring began circulating on social media.
The Feb. 20 hearing included U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie Hambrick; Karl Knuchel, lawyer from Brosnans; lawyer Ariel Calmes representing the State; and Clerk Jessica Jarvis, according to the court filing. The date and time of the next hearing was discussed, the minutes indicate.
Negotiations are ongoing and everyone is eagerly awaiting a solution, read a Friday email from Knuchel. The next court date is March 14.
Brosnan was charged with violating sections 36CFR7.13(j) and 36CFR1.5(f), which are listed in court records as misdemeanor offenses.
Under 36CFR7.13(j), travel on foot in all thermal areas and within Yellowstone Canyon between Upper Falls and Inspiration Point must be limited to boardwalks or trails maintained for such travel and marked with official signs. .
Under 36CFR1.5(f), violation of a closure, designation, restriction or condition of use or activity, visitation schedule or limit public use is prohibited.
The charges are punishable by thousands of dollars in fines and/or less than a year in prison.
Brosnan, 70, was in Park County and Livingston in October and November filming a western, Unholy Trinity, directed by Richard Gray.
In the film, he plays Sheriff Gabriel Dove. Samuel L. Jackson, who plays St. Christopher, also stars in the film.
The film begins moments before the execution of an innocent man, according to imdb.com. The man's estranged son faces the task of exacting revenge – or perhaps justice – against the man who framed his father. Brandon Lessard plays Henry.
“Determined to keep his promise, Henry travels to the isolated town of Trinity, where an unexpected turn of events traps him in the town and leaves him trapped between Gabriel Dove (Brosnan), the town's honest new sheriff, and a mysterious character named St. Christopher (Jackson),” reads an October 25, 2023 article on deadline.com.
Also starring in the film are David Arquette, Ethan Peck, Katrina Bowden and Gianni Capaldi, according to variety.com.
The film was filmed primarily at the Yellowstone Film Ranch in Paradise Valley in Park County and is expected to be released later this year, according to previous reports.
