Disorderly conduct in a national park is a federal crime under 36 CFR 2.34, and a conviction is a Class B misdemeanor carrying up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $5,000, and a permanent federal record.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1865 The regulation covers four kinds of behavior on National Park Service land: fighting or threatening someone, obscene or provocative speech, unreasonable noise, and creating a hazardous or offensive condition.2eCFR. 36 CFR 2.34 – Disorderly Conduct The government also has to prove you acted with a specific mental state, which is where many contested cases turn.
What Behavior the Rule Covers
36 CFR 2.34 lists four categories of prohibited conduct, and any one of them on its own is enough to support a charge.2eCFR. 36 CFR 2.34 – Disorderly Conduct
- Fighting or threatening behavior — physical altercations and conduct that communicates an immediate threat of violence.
- Obscene or menacing speech — language, gestures, or displays that are obscene, physically threatening, or likely to provoke immediate physical confrontation.
- Unreasonable noise — sound a reasonable person would consider excessive given the location, time of day, and nature of the setting.
- Hazardous or offensive conditions — creating or maintaining a physical condition that endangers health or safety or is offensive to others sharing the space.
The noise category is the one where rangers exercise the most judgment. A generator running during quiet hours in a campground and the same generator running midday in a developed recreation area are treated very differently. Officers weigh the sound against the environment and the time it occurs.
The hazardous-conditions category is broad. It reaches everything from broken glass scattered across a trail to noxious substances introduced into a public restroom, and it functions as a catch-all for disruptive physical conditions that don’t fit the other three.
The Mental State the Government Must Prove
A conviction requires proof that you either intended to cause public alarm, nuisance, jeopardy, or violence, or that you knowingly or recklessly created a risk of those outcomes.2eCFR. 36 CFR 2.34 – Disorderly Conduct Accidentally knocking a stack of firewood into a metal bear box at 2 a.m. is loud and annoying, but it doesn’t clear this bar.
Most contested cases turn on recklessness. Someone who lights commercial fireworks in a dry meadow during fire season may not intend to alarm anyone, but they are aware of the risk and choose to ignore it. Courts ask whether a reasonable person in the same situation would have recognized that the behavior was highly likely to cause a disturbance. That awareness-and-disregard standard is enough for a conviction.
The “knowingly” standard sits between intent and recklessness. It applies when you are aware your conduct is practically certain to cause a disturbance even if provoking that result isn’t your goal. Amplified music aimed at an occupied campsite at midnight is a good example.
When Speech Crosses the Line
The speech provision is narrower than it looks. It reaches language or gestures that are obscene, physically threatening, or likely to provoke immediate physical confrontation.2eCFR. 36 CFR 2.34 – Disorderly Conduct That phrasing tracks the Supreme Court’s “fighting words” doctrine, which places words directly tending to cause acts of violence by the person addressed outside First Amendment protection.3Constitution Annotated. Fighting Words
Being rude, profane, or obnoxious is not automatically a federal offense. The speech has to be directed at someone in a way that either threatens physical harm or is so provocative it is likely to trigger an immediate violent response. Loudly complaining about park management in a visitor center is protected. Getting in another hiker’s face and threatening to hurt them is not.
Penalties on Conviction
Because the maximum authorized prison term is six months, a violation is a Class B misdemeanor.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3559 – Sentencing Classification of Offenses The penalty statute for NPS regulation violations authorizes imprisonment of up to six months, a fine, or both, plus the costs of prosecution.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1865
The maximum fine is $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 for an organization.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3571 – Sentence of Fine A mandatory $10 special assessment is added to every Class B misdemeanor conviction for an individual on top of whatever fine the judge imposes.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3013 – Special Assessment on Convicted Persons
A court can impose probation for up to five years instead of jail on a misdemeanor conviction.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3561 – Sentence of Probation Common probation conditions include staying out of the park where the offense occurred, community service, or counseling. Restitution for damage caused during the incident can also be ordered.
Alcohol-Related Incidents Often Bring a Second Charge
Disturbances involving alcohol frequently produce a companion citation under 36 CFR 2.35, which prohibits being under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance in a park area to a degree that endangers yourself, others, or property. When chronic problems develop at a specific location, the superintendent can ban alcohol possession and consumption there entirely.8eCFR. 36 CFR 2.35 – Alcoholic Beverages and Controlled Substances Being charged under both regulations at once is common and means two separate penalties.
Where the Rule Applies
36 CFR 2.34 reaches all lands and waters within a park area that fall under the legislative jurisdiction of the United States, regardless of who owns the land.2eCFR. 36 CFR 2.34 – Disorderly Conduct Private inholdings inside park boundaries can still be covered if the federal government holds legislative jurisdiction over the area. Which law enforcement agencies can respond depends on the type of jurisdiction in that specific park unit. If you are unsure whether you are on NPS-managed land, look for boundary signs or check the park’s official map before assuming federal rules don’t apply.
Federal regulations are not the only criminal laws that can reach you. Under the Assimilative Crimes Act, if you commit an act on federal land that no federal statute covers but that would be a crime under the surrounding state’s law, you can be charged as if you had violated that state law.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 13 – Laws of States Adopted for Areas Within Federal Jurisdiction Types of public disturbance the state criminalizes that 36 CFR 2.34 does not address can still produce charges on park land.
What Happens After You Get a Citation
A violation notice from a park ranger is routed through the Central Violations Bureau, the federal court system’s centralized processing office for petty offenses and misdemeanors. What happens next depends on whether the ticket is marked “mandatory.”
If the ticket is not mandatory, you can resolve it by paying the collateral amount listed on the citation online or by mail.10Central Violations Bureau. Pay a Ticket Paying collateral works like a guilty plea. You accept the fine and take the conviction. If you want to contest the charge instead, the CVB will schedule a court date.
If the ticket is marked mandatory, you have to appear. The CVB will mail a Notice to Appear with a court date, typically four to eight weeks out. Ignoring a citation or missing your date can lead the U.S. District Court to issue a summons or an arrest warrant, which turns a manageable misdemeanor into something much worse.11Central Violations Bureau. Frequently Asked Questions
Long-Term Impact on Your Record
A conviction under 36 CFR 2.34 is a federal criminal conviction, and it stays on your record. There is no general federal expungement statute. The narrow expungement options that exist apply to situations like incorrect records, overturned convictions, and certain drug possession offenses by defendants under 21. A standard disorderly conduct conviction does not qualify.
Federal background investigations for security clearances and government jobs require disclosure of criminal history, often reaching back seven to ten years on the Standard Form 86, with some questions carrying no time limit at all. A single Class B misdemeanor won’t automatically disqualify you; those decisions are case-by-case and weigh how recent the offense was, whether it was isolated, and what you have done since. Failing to disclose the conviction when asked is often treated more seriously than the conviction itself.
Private employers running background checks will also see it. For many people, the lasting cost of a park disorderly conduct charge isn’t the fine or the possibility of jail. It’s the federal conviction surfacing on a background check years later.