Delco Man Ticketed For Running in 'Closed' Valley Forge Park
By Brad Segall
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (CBS) -- A Delaware County man plans to head to federal court to fight a citation he received for running in Valley Forge National Historical Park during the partial federal government shutdown.
John Bell is an avid marathoner who trains regularly in the park. The 56-year-old Chadds Ford man says he parked his car in a remote lot on Sunday -- a lot not blocked by a barrier.
When he returned to his car, Bell's attorney, Jeremy Ibrahim, says, his client found himself confronted by two armed park rangers with their cruiser lights flashing.
"They told him, 'Don't you know the park is closed?' Of course he tells them, 'Well, look around, there are people walking their dogs, riding bikes, running.' And they said, 'Well, the park's closed.' "
Ibrahim says they wrote Bell up for violating an administrative closure, which carries a fine of $100. He says Bell never saw any signs indicating the park was closed and says it's not about the money, it's about the principle of closing a national park.
