Phil Lyman

Phil Lyman’s primary legal controversy stems from his role in organizing a May 2014 ATV protest ride through Utah’s Recapture Canyon, which had been closed to motorized vehicles by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to protect archaeological sites. In 2015, a federal jury convicted Lyman of two misdemeanors: conspiracy to operate off-road vehicles on closed public lands and operation of off-road vehicles on closed public lands. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail, 36 months of probation, and ordered to pay $96,000 in restitution. He served his jail time in 2016 and paid the full restitution amount, including a $1,000 fine, by October 2020. In December 2020, President Donald Trump granted Lyman a pardon for the conviction. Lyman subsequently filed a $10 million lawsuit against the BLM, alleging that officials provided false testimony and colluded against him; the lawsuit was unsuccessful.