KEYSTONE, S.D. – A climber spotted “on top of George Washington’s head” at Mount Rushmore was fined $1,500 after pleading guilty Thursday, court documents show.
Ayman Doppke created a “hazardous condition” Aug. 19 by scaling a dangerous slope to climb the national monument – which is a crime – and forcing law enforcement to pursue him.
The Rapid City Journal reports that a ranger at the scene reported seeing Doppke fall down a cliff, winding up 100 feet below the monument. He later told officers he thought the only way he might escape was to go down the steepest and most dangerous route, the documents said.
Doppke was treated at the scene and declined to go to the hospital.
A 19-year-old Michigan man was fined $1,000 in July of 2018 for climbing Mount Rushmore.
