Pierce Brosnan changes course, pleads guilty after missteps at Yellowstone

In the last few months, actor Pierce Brosnan has done a little legal two-step, first pleading not guilty and then turning around and pleading guilty after he received citations for venturing into restricted areas of Yellowstone National Park.

Brosnan found himself on the wrong side of the law last fall, when he was in Montana filming "The Unholy Trinity," a Western co-starring Samuel L. Jackson. While in the area, he decided to take a sightseeing trip to Yellowstone, as Blaze News previously reported.

At the park, Brosnan snapped various selfies as he took in many of the manifold wonders Yellowstone has to offer, including a hot springs area known as Mammoth Terraces. Perhaps distracted by the natural beauty of the landscape, he likewise stepped outside the designated foot paths at another thermal area as well.

The trouble is that Mammoth Terraces was then closed to tourists, and the thermal boardwalks are not just there to direct and control traffic. Thermal areas — which include geysers and hot springs — are some of the most dangerous attractions in Yellowstone, with water temperatures sometimes reaching a scalding 175 degrees Fahrenheit. The park even reports that hot springs "have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than any other natural feature."

The incriminating selfies Brosnan took eventually found their way to a social media account infamous for outing "stupid" tourists, the New York Post reported, and Brosnan was later issued two federal citations, one for "foot travel in all thermal areas and w/in Yellowstone Canyon confined to trails" and the other for "violating closures and use limits," court documents said. The maximum penalties for those offenses include six months behind bars and a $5,000 fine.

In January, his attorney, Karl Knuchel, entered a not guilty plea on Brosnan's behalf in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming.

But on Thursday, Brosnan walked that plea back and instead pled guilty to the "foot travel" count. He also agreed to pay a fine of about $1,500, most of which will be donated to the Yellowstone Forever Geological Fund. In exchange, prosecutors dropped all other charges against him.

The 70-year-old actor, perhaps best known for his memorable role in "Mrs. Doubtfire" and for playing James Bond in the 1990s and early 2000s, took to Instagram to apologize for his Yellowstone misstep, which he called a "transgression" and "an impulsive mistake." "I did not see a 'No Trespassing' sign posted that warned of danger nor did I hike in the immediate area," he explained.

"As an environmentalist I have the utmost respect for and love of our natural world," he added. "... Yellowstone and all our National Parks are to be cared for and preserved for all to enjoy."

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