EDITORIAL: In prosecuting runner, the administrative state runs amok

The country once celebrated those who scaled mountains. Now bureaucrats seek to prosecute them.

Michelino Sunseri is a trail runner. Last year, he set a record for running up and down Wyoming’s Grand Teton mountain. It’s an imposing route of 13.1 miles out and back with 7,000 feet of elevation gain. His time of 2 hours, 50 minutes and 50 seconds lowered the previous record by more than 2 minutes. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Sunseri was elated, posting about his feat on social media.

“After 43 summits in 4 years, 200+ hours of recon, full frontal falls, scrapes, bruises, and rolled ankles … I finally felt confident enough to lay it all on the line and go for this record that I once deemed impossible,” he wrote on Instagram. He continued, “Having finally done it, I’m proud, happy, sore, and honestly — a little bit relieved.”

Little did he know what was to come. Along the official trail, there is a well-used path that cuts between a switchback. Mr. Sunseri said he took the path to avoid hikers. As WyoFile reported, “The route is a historic trail so well-used that it’s become a skinny singletrack.” Instead of a log closing off the path, the National Park Service had only two small signs at the top and bottom of the trail.

By leaving the path and publicizing his route, Mr. Sunseri violated an obscure federal rule. It’s a misdemeanor to leave “a trail or walkway to shortcut between portions of the same trail.” If officials were to vigorously enforce that rule, every child who has ever been hiking would be in jail.

In a sane world, a ranger would have talked with Mr. Sunseri about what happened and figured out a better way to mark the trail as closed. Instead, federal officials cited him for breaking the law. They offered him a deal that would have included a five-year ban on visiting Grand Teton National Park, essentially banning him from his professional workplace. Mr. Sunseri rejected that and went to trial.

This case is a textbook example of why President Donald Trump issued an executive order in May addressing “overcriminalization in federal regulations.” He noted that there are more regulations than “any citizen can possibly read, let alone fully understand.” He directed prosecutors to focus on those knowingly breaking a regulation, “thereby causing or risking substantial public harm.”

It took several months and congressional pressure, but prosecutors in this case seem to have gotten the message. Despite a judge finding him guilty, federal officials are now seeking a more lenient sentence. If the judge approves, this new deal would expunge the conviction if Mr. Sunseri completes 60 hours of community service and other terms.

There are plenty of criminals worth prosecuting. Those, like Mr. Sunseri, who violate administrative edicts aren’t usually among them and stand as testament to the wisdom of Mr. Trump’s executive order on overcriminalization.