Michigan man caught climbing Mount Rushmore, was on top of Washington’s head

RAPID CITY, S.D. — A Dearborn man will pay a fine of $1,500 after he pleaded guilty to illegally climbing Mount Rushmore last week. According to the Associated Press, Ayman Doppke of Dearborn was also facing charges of disorderly conduct and violating an area closure, but those were dropped during his court appearance last week.

Doppke was arrested on Aug. 19 after dispatchers reported “a climber being seen on Mt. Rushmore on the top of George Washington’s head.” While trying to make his down the mountain, Doppke was accused of creating a “hazardous condition” because he climbed down an unsafe slope before falling and causing law enforcement to track him down.

Doppke fell approximately 25 feet while descending down the mountain and fell down a gravel slope before he was arrested. He was treated for minor injuries but did not go to the hospital. Doppke said he tried to escape down the dangerous path because he assumed rangers would try to arrest him and he figured he could escape going that way, the AP reports.