Michigan man fined $1,500 for climbing up Mt. Rushmore

RAPID CITY, S.D. - A Michigan climber who was spotted earlier this month on Mount Rushmore and later slipped down a cliff has been fined $1,500.

Court documents show that dispatchers on Aug. 19 reported "a climber being seen on Mt. Rushmore on the top of George Washington's head" was creating a "hazardous condition" by climbing an unsafe slope, falling and forcing law enforcement to track him down.

The Rapid City Journal reports that Ayman Doppke pleaded guilty Thursday to illegally climbing the mountain.

At one point Doppke fell 25 feet and tumbled down a loose gravel slope.

He was arrested after he was treated by a medic but declined to be taken to the hospital.