Three German visitors have been cited for defacing signs and buildings in Joshua Tree National Park with paintballs/NPS

A visit to Joshua Tree National Park in California is carrying an unexpected expense for three Germans who have been charged with defacing signs and buildings with paintballs.

The three, whose names and hometowns were not released by the park, were cited for firing paintballs at signs, bathrooms and dumpsters throughout the national park last Sunday.

The violation under 36 CFR, Chapter 1, Part 1, 1.4 carries a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine and/or not more than six months in prison. Paintball markers and slingshots are legally considered weapons and are prohibited in National Park Service-administered lands.  

Paintball splatters were found on restroom facilities in the park/NPS

“Defacing or altering the NPS landscape, no matter how small, is against the law,” said Joshua Tree National Park Acting Chief Ranger Jeff Filosa. “It diminishes the natural environment that millions of people travel the world to enjoy. The park is regularly tasked with removing graffiti of all types, using time and resources that could be better dedicated to other priorities.”  

On Sunday, August 4, a park ranger patrolling the Jumbo Rocks Campground noticed fresh yellow paintball splatter on structures and signs.  Law enforcement rangers were called to the campground to investigate further and found a slingshot in plain view inside a vehicle.  

After being questioned, the visitors admitted to firing paintballs with a compressed paintball gun, known as a paintball marker, and slingshots the night before. Rangers searched their vehicle and recovered three slingshots, a paintball marker, paintballs, and other related equipment as evidence.  

Rangers also learned that at least 11 roadway signs along Park Boulevard from Jumbo Rocks campground to the Maze Trailhead, two miles from the west entrance of the park, had been shot with yellow paintballs.  

The park's maintenance staff is handling the cleanup. 

This compressed paintball gun was confiscated by rangers/NPS