A man from Appleton, Wisconsin was sentenced Monday for assaulting a park ranger while illegally camping at Yosemite National Park.
According to documents released by the court, 32-year-old Michael Anthony Valencia began misusing the 911 emergency system that serves Yosemite National Park in in June, 2024. Valencia made a series of non-emergency calls through July 22, 2024 to harass dispatchers and law enforcement officers.
Investigators managed to track down the calls and park rangers hiked to Valencia’s location where he was found camping without a permit for an extended time. When confronted Valencia stated that if he had had a gun he would have shot one of the rangers. Valencia then punched and injured one of the rangers who was serving citations to Valencia.
Valencia has been in custody since his arrest in July 2024. In March, 2026 he pleaded guilty to assault of a federal officer, interfering with a government employee engaged in official duties, and camping without a permit. In addition to time served, Valencia was also sentenced Monday to three years of supervised release.
