Jessica Austin, 27, and Samuel Pullen, 29, both from California, were cited for failing to obtain a permit for public assemblies (36 CFR 2.51) as a result of a protest that took place on February 25th. Rangers were dispatched to a report of protesters at the Bright Angel Lodge, with one protestor described as being dressed like a rat. They’d already left the area when rangers arrived, and were reportedly following a chartered tour bus towards a hotel in Tusayan, just south of the park. When the rangers arrived at the hotel, they saw passengers getting out of the bus, Austin talking into a megaphone, and Pullen videotaping and approaching the passengers. Austin was shouting that the AlliedTPro tour company mistreated its employees and that the passengers should go home and not use the company. Austin and Pullen claimed to be union members who’d worked for the AlliedTPro tour company and said that they were striking against the company. Both admitted to protesting in the park. They also produced a business card from a law enforcement ranger at Montezuma’s Castle who had already told the two about the requirement for a permit to demonstrate and provided information on how to obtain one earlier that day. A follow-up investigation revealed that Austin and Pullen had been following this bus tour since Los Angeles and had also been contacted by law enforcement officers in Blythe and Scottsdale, Arizona.
