Typo Patrol Guilty Of Defacing Grand Canyon Sign
Posted on Sunday, 24 of August , 2008 at 11:01 pm
FLAGSTAFF, AZ–– Jeff Michael Deck, 28 , of Somerville, Mass., and Benjamin Douglas Herson, 28, of Virginia Beach, Va., members of the Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL), have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to vandalize government for damage they did to a rare hand painted 60-year-old sign in the Grand Canyon National Park.
The pair used a black magic marker and white out to change what they said was a misplaced apostrophe. They have been ordered to pay $3,035 to repair the sign and cannot enter a national park for two years.
Deck and Herson, self-described “grammar vigilantes” were on a tour of the U.S. from March to May 2008, with a purpose to stamp out typos in public signage and other venues. On March 28, they were at the Desert View Watchtower on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
Desert View Watchtower is listed on the National Historic Landmark and is one of Mary Jane Elizabeth Colter’s most important works in Grand Canyon National Park. A rare hand painted sign hangs in the Watchtower. The sign, considered a unique historic and irreplaceable item, drew the attention of the pair who waited for a nearby Park Ranger to leave the area and then corrected what they perceived to be typos in the historic sign.
Both defendants were sentenced by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark E. Aspey to one year of probation during which they are banned from all National Parks in the United States, prohibited from making any modifications to any public signs and must place a statement on their website educating others about the historical and archeological impact of vandalizing signs in the National Parks. 8-24-08
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Category: Courts, Crime, Government
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