MOUNT RUSHMORE — On Monday, an Omaha woman was sentenced in federal court in South Dakota for climbing Mount Rushmore. Alexandria Incontro had to pay a $1,000 fine for climbing the famed national monument.
For those visiting Mount Rushmore Friday, they were in a for a surprise as Omaha Native Alexandria Incontro was arrested following her climb near the founding father’s famous faces.
At approximately 7:08 p.m. on July 12, Mount Rushmore rangers received a call that a person was climbing up the national monument. Alexandria Incontro was on a trip to the monument with 19 family members including her 7-year-old and 3-year-old kids.
Rangers got to the monument and asked Incontro to come down. According to court documents, Incontro responded by saying, “Do you want me to come down fast or slow,” and continued to climb.
Incontro was free-climbing the sculpture, meaning she was doing so without ropes or a harness and was also doing so without shoes.
The rangers state that she was 15 from the top between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson’s heads before turning around to go down.
Incontro made it down safely and was handcuffed after she safely made it down the mountain. Ambulance personnel identified minor wounds on her feet and scrapes on her arms and legs but no serious injuries.
In federal court in South Dakota Monday, the judge dropped three of the charges including trespassing but kept the climbing Mount Rushmore charge...along with the $1,000 fine she had to pay a $30 processing fee.
We talked to a Mount Rushmore spokesperson who told us arrests for climbing the monument occasionally happen and that they wouldn’t comment further on the matter.
We also reached out to Incontro’s public defender and the ranger who filed the report but haven’t heard back.
