Self-Proclaimed Graffiti Artist Takes Art Too Far

It’s nothing but bad news for one self-proclaimed graffiti artist, Casey Nocket. She has been banned from every national park and federal piece of land in the United States for two years along with quite a hefty fine to pay. Nocket who calls herself an artist, went to quite a few national parks and vandalized rocks there. Many of these drawings were done in acrylic pen, which is quite difficult to wash off of the rocks that have been there for thousands of years.

How She Was Found

Nocket is not only an Instagram user, but she also takes part in the huge Reddit community. Many Reddit users were stunned when they saw the pictures she had taken of herself vandalizing these parks. She drew her tag which is of a face with her artist name which is Creepytings. She drew this on at least six different parks in four different states such as Death Valley, Zion National Park, Crater Lake, and the Colorado National Monument. Her Yosemite tag is the one that got the full attention of the National Parks Service officials. The story spread to these officials and that is when they began to investigate further.

Modern Hiker Angered

While dealing with all of the backlash on Reddit, her pictures ended up on Modern Hiker’s website. There was an uproar. The people who read and post on this site are lovers of nature and this hit them very close to home. They also began to report Nocket and she says she was bullied online by quite a few of the readers there and on Reddit. She has also faced the wrath of Facebook and Instagram users. By looking at her accounts, one can see just how mad she has made people. Some of the users are bashing her and her actions while there are others who think that she is completely right about her actions. Some members were even quoted saying “When the cavemen did it, was it considered vandalism?” Those who support the National Parks Service value the lands that were defaced and many of them are part of Native American roots and reservations. This is why they seem to be outraged. 

Charges and Allegations

This month, she was charged with seven different counts of vandalism and injury against property that is owned by the federal government if four different states. She will also have to write a letter of apology to the National Parks Service and her fines could get up to $700,000 and she will be on strict probation for two years, maybe longer. She pled guilty and has another trial in December to determine the cost of her fine. Many of her posts compare her art to that of well-known graffiti artist, Banksy. She has posted that she is aware of how bad of a person she is and we can clearly see her opinion on nature from one of her hashtags on Instagram. It reads #NatureIsGay. Hopefully she will learn her lesson from all of this.