A runner who faced a year-long legal fight after straying off of a trail during a record-setting run in Grand Teton National Park has been pardoned by President Trump.

Michelino Sunseri set a new Grand Teton speed record in September 2024 when he went up and down the mountain in 2 hours, 50 minutes, and 10 seconds — almost three minutes faster than the previous record. The grueling route is 13 miles long and has 7,000 feet of vertical gain with boulders, loose rock, and exposed climbing.

Days later after Mr. Sunseri received publicity for the feat from the North Face, his corporate sponsor, the National Park Service pursued criminal charges against him for straying onto a “restricted” trail that other record holders had previously used without issue.

Those so-called “social trails” are commonly used paths in the national park that are not formally designated as trails. The park service also asked a company that tracks record mountain trail times not to ratify Mr. Sunseri’s time.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Wyoming agreed to prosecute the criminal case. Mr. Sunseri was charged with violating a federal regulatory misdemeanor — which was never passed by Congress but carries up to six months in jail — for leaving a trail or walkway to shortcut between portions of the same trail.

Prosecutors offered Mr. Sunseri several plea deals, but each one included a five-year ban from the Grand Teton National Park or an admission of guilt. Mr. Sunseri refused to take a plea.

The Pacific Legal Foundation represented Mr. Sunseri and argued that the Grand Teton superintendent’s closure of the trail and criminal charges against Mr. Sunseri were an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power reserved for Congress. Mr. Sunseri stated that there were no markings indicating the trail was closed and he was not aware of the superintendent’s unilateral trail closure.

The Cato Institute highlighted Mr. Sunseri’s plight during testimony in May at a House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee on “Criminalization by Regulation.”

Two days after that testimony, President Trump issued an executive order aimed at discouraging prosecutions like the one Mr. Sunseri was facing. The Department of the Interior quickly dropped out of the case but the Justice Department continued the prosecution.

Mr. Sunseri was convicted a year to the date of his record but on the eve of his sentencing hearing, the Justice Department offered to dismiss the case after 60 hours of community service and a wilderness stewardship course. Then on Friday, Mr. Trump signed off on the full pardon.

“In an unbelievable twist that even Hollywood couldn’t write, I woke up this morning to find out I’ve been given a PRESIDENTIAL PARDON from Donald J. Trump — over the Grand Teton FKT (Fastest Known Time) and my use of the Old Climber’s Trail,” Mr. Sunseri wrote in a Facebook post on Monday.

“Seriously. You can’t make this stuff up. It’s only fitting that something this absurd from the start ends in an equally surreal way,” Mr. Sunseri continued.

“We are thrilled that Michelino’s nightmare is over, but we’re not done fighting against unconstitutional regulations that give low-level park officials the power to criminalize harmless conduct,” an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, Michael Poon, said in a statement. “We are ready to help other Americans who face criminal prosecution for breaking park rules that were illegally created.”

A feature-length documentary going behind-the-scenes of Mr. Sunseri’s plight is set for a 2026 release.

“This case was a massive waste of taxpayer money and government energy from the start,” Mr. Sunseri wrote.