Wisconsin man who hid out in Yosemite National Park assaulted park ranger

California's Eastern District Court sentenced a Wisconsin man for assaulting a backcountry ranger in Yosemite National Park, officials announced. Michael Anthony Valencia, 32, of Appleton, Wisconsin, was sentenced to three years of supervised release for assault of a federal officer, interfering with a government employee engaged in official duties and camping without a permit, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced on Monday.

For weeks prior to his arrest, Valencia had been repeatedly making nonemergency calls to the park's 911 system from a spot near the Pohono Trail, according to court documents. He had been camping in the backcountry there without a permit. The Pohono trailhead is located uphill from the park's famous Tunnel View area.

Law enforcement officers arrived at the Pohono Trail area on July 22, 2024, with the intention of making contact with Valencia to address his misuse of the park's 911 system, court documents state. National Park Service special agent James Cullen Tucker wrote in his affidavit that around 11:40 that morning, he was told by a colleague that Valencia had assaulted a Park Service officer. Tucker refers to the officer as W.H.

Tucker wrote that when he met with W.H. at the Tunnel View pullout, the officer's upper lip was cut and swollen, and there was dried blood on his clothes. He tooth also appeared to be "bent inward," Tucker wrote in his affidavit. Valencia was also at the Tunnel View pullout, and had been placed in handcuffs.

According to Tucker's account, W.H. later stated in an interview that in one of his 911 calls, Valencia said he wanted to "shoot a cop and go to prison." W.H. also contacted Valencia's mother, who told him that Valencia was attempting to "escape society" and may be violent if approached by law enforcement.

W.H. and other park service officers found Valencia's campsite, which "consisted of tarps erected into some sort of temporary structure," during the week of July 15, Tucker wrote. On the morning of July 22, W.H. and another officer approached Valencia near his campsite while he was defecating near a downed tree. Valencia allegedly then told the officers, "If I had a gun, I would shoot you right now."

W.H. walked behind Valencia and grabbed his arm, at which point Valencia punched W.H. in the mouth. He was then placed in handcuffs and taken to the Tunnel View pullout. W.H. was later taken to a local emergency room, where his lip was treated with stitches.

Valencia had been in custody since he was arrested that day. He pleaded guilty on March 23 to assault on a federal officer with bodily injury, camping without a permit and intentionally interfering with a government employee engaged in official duties, court documents state. On Monday, he was sentenced to time served and released from custody.

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