Actress and singer Vanessa Hudgens took a Valentine’s Day Weekend trip to Sedona, Arizona with boyfriend Austin Butler and could now be facing some legal trouble.
The former High School Musical star, who was recently seen in Grease Live posted a photo to her Instagram account (which has since been taken down) showing the couple’s names carved into the Red Rocks inside of a heart.
Now an investigation is under way.
If the carving is located in the Red Rock Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest then it would be illegal to damage the natural features or other properties of the United States.
The actress could face a fine of up to $5,000 or six months in jail.
CNN mentions “It’s hard for federal officials to catch people in the act, but posting it to Instagram is what may get Hudgens in trouble“.
I wondered if the government would be able to find the area that Hudgens allegedly carved on. When reading about the Coconino National Forest, I read that the Red Rock Ranger District includes 160,000 acres. Based on this, what are the odds that they find the carving done by Hudgens?
I’d think not so likely.
I also wonder if somebody could be charged for damaging the rocks based on an Instagram photo? My guess would be no although Hudgens does look awfully guilty for removing the photo from her account.
I also find it hard to believe that Hudgens (or anyone else for that matter) would face jail time for this kind of crime.
Maybe she didn’t even know that she was doing anything wrong although it would probably be common sense for most to not do carvings on rocks on national lands.
Considering Vanessa Hudgens has a net worth around $10 million, I don’t think paying a $5,000 fine would be much of a punishment. I wonder if the parks department could get Hudgens to star in some sort of campaign to promote respecting (and not defacing) the rocks/ public lands.
Find out more from CNN here.