You may remember the story from over a year ago.
Artist, without the Bigfoot costume.
As The Keene Sentinel noted on January 4, 2010, “In early fall [2009], Keene resident Jonathan C. Doyle had a spontaneous idea: Dress as Bigfoot and appear atop the summit of Mount Monadnock. He surprised some 80 hikers, then shot video of interviews with them and posted the clip on YouTube.”
Park rangers were not happy to discover Doyle did it again, but even bigger, according to National Public Radio. The rangers kicked him out of the park, because he didn’t have a permit.
Then, in January 2010, the Associated Press reported that Jonathan Doyle, a Keene, New Hampshire artist and videographer, the man who dressed as Bigfoot in that state park, “says his rights were trampled by big government.”
A complaint filed in a letter to the state parks department, Doyle notes that “a Mount Monadnock park ranger halted his performance art project in the fall [of 2009] because he didn’t have a permit.”
With much publicity, Doyle announced that the December 14, 2009 letter was sent to George Bald, commissioner of New Hampshire’s Department of Resources and Economic Development (which includes the Parks Department), stating that the special permit rule is vague, giving “unchecked discretion” to the park director.
The Washington Post summarized: “Doyle is arguing through the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union Foundation that his free-speech rights were violated when he was expelled from the state park in Jaffrey. He says he and others with him, some also in costume, were on a lesser-used trail and weren’t bothering other park visitors. Doyle says the state hasn’t responded to his letter. The Division of Parks and Recreation says it has been forwarded to the state attorney general’s office.”
In 2009, Doyle “told his business group that he was frustrated with traditional ways of getting people to visit his Web site, but that after this stunt (and a resulting front page article in the Keene Sentinel), his site received an amazing number of hits,” according to e-Network.
Doyle appeared in 2010 to have achieved his goal to get major media attention for his stunt. Now comes stage two. He is suing the state of New Hampshire. As reported by the Associated Press, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Jonathan Doyle is suing the state, arguing that the requirement to pay $100 for a special use permit 30 days in advance and get a $2 million insurance bond violates his free speech rights.
AP ends their article thusly:
Doyle, who grew up in Keene and has attended several art schools but has yet to graduate, has done other stunts to elicit reactions. He created and drove a “Bat-Mobile” around Manhattan. He dressed as an angel and stood stock still in the main aisle of an Episcopal church. He also said he designs websites and murals and loves to paint.
“I don’t want to be locked in a Bigfoot suit forever,” Doyle said. “I’d like to be able to do more.”
Bigfoot is the nickname given to sightings of large, hairy, human-like creatures that have been reported across the United States. Scientists are skeptical, at best, about its existence.AP
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