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Two Nevada men accused of damaging 140-million-year-old rock formations in a national park are facing trial.
The charges against the men come four months after a video showing two visitors vandalizing the ancient rock formations at Lake Mead National Recreation Area went viral.
Wyatt Clifford Fain, 37, and Payden David Guy Cosper, 31, have each been charged with one count of injury and depredation of government property and one count of aiding and abetting.
The men could face up to 10 years in prison if they are convicted when they go to trial in October, the US Department of Justice said.
According to the indictment, Fain and Cosper are accused of pushing large chunks of ancient rock formations over the edge of a cliff near the Redstone Dunes Trail, resulting in damages in excess of $1,000, the DOJ said in a statement.
The Lake Mead National Recreation Area is located approximately 30 miles outside of Las Vegas and attracts around six million visitors each year.
The recreation area covers 1.5 million acres of breathtaking mountain views, canyon trails and two vital reservoirs that extend across the Nevada and Arizona border.
There was uproar when the video of the two visitors damaging the rocks surfaced in April of this year with John Haynes, a recreation area spokesperson, saying: “Why on earth would you do this to this area that’s so beautiful? It’s one of my favorite places in the park and they’re up there just destroying it. I don’t understand that.”
Fain and Cosper pleaded not guilty and will appear in court on October 8.
