Everyone gets their thrills in different ways. For some, it’s playing the slots in a casino that gets their blood pumping. For others, cheering for their favorite sports team in a tightly-contested game provides an adrenaline rush.
Then there are those who get the biggest charge out of courting death, of taking risks that most of the rest of the world can only sit and watch. Not only can the brave get their kicks doing things ordinary people won’t, but they can also make some money from it as well. YouTube, Instagram, and other online content platforms are filled with video exploits of the daring and the audacious, who seek to drive enough traffic to generate income. The mantra appears to be something along the lines of the bolder, the better. Still, posting footage of yourself violating a federal regulation may not be the smartest option.
Such is the case with Jack Propeck, who is accused of violating the Code of Federal Regulations for allegedly BASE jumping off Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park in 2025. Or is it? Propeck has claimed that the video of himself making the jump that he posted to Instagram was okay because he had a permit. Also, it’ll be legal soon. And, perhaps most important of all, it wasn’t even him doing the jump.
But didn’t he brag about making the jump in the video that he posted on his channel Well, sure, but he argued he used AI to superimpose his face over the real jumper's.
But don’t many of the other videos he’s posted show him BASE jumping in the same distinctive pressurized skydiving suit and sporting the same facial hair and purple-tinted sunglasses? No word on that, yet.
The CFR forbids the use of a parachute in national parks. He’s likely to be charged with a federal petty offense, which carries a maximum of six months in jail. If it’s him in the video, of course.
And I’m Free, Freefallin’
BASE jumping is widely considered to be one of the most dangerous of extreme sports. As the name indicates, BASE (B = buildings; A = antennas/radio masts; S = spans/bridges; E = earth) jumpers leap off structures or natural elevation sites. BASE jumpers use specially designed, quick-deploying parachutes to slow their descent, but given the relatively short distance they fall, a backup parachute is not an option. Wingsuits, which have flaps that mimic those of a flying squirrel, are sometimes used to further slow the fall or allow a longer jump through gliding.
Given the source of the summons for Propeck, it’s somewhat ironic that the modern version of BASE jumping is considered to have started with leaps from Yosemite’s El Capitan in 1966. According to claims made in a video he posted on Instagram in August 2025, Propeck has made more than 1,000 BASE jumps worldwide. It’s the one he allegedly made early in the morning of October 8, 2025, that caught the attention of United States Park Ranger Cody Hays.
Acting on a tip sent to the National Park Service (NPS), Ranger Hays observed a video posted by Propeck on his Instagram site on October 8 with the caption “Track like you mean it,” which featured an individual performing a BASE jump that shows landmarks like Glacier Point and North Dome, confirming that it took place in Yosemite National Park. Despite Propeck’s reply to a commenter that he ‘had a permit’ for the jump, the National Park Service prohibits BASE jumping in all national parks under its air-delivery rule, and Yosemite does not issue permits for recreational BASE jumping.
This Is What “Hoist With His Own Petard” Stands for, Right?
Title 36 of the CFR specifies that “Delivering or retrieving a person or object by parachute, helicopter, or other airborne means, except in emergencies” is illegal on federal land without a permit. While Yosemite will issue special permits for ceremonies, First Amendment-related events, and the spreading of cremated human remains (Seriously! It’s 100% legal with a permit), it does not do so for any BASE jumping activities.
Ranger Hays compared the video of Propeck’s alleged jump in Yosemite with others posted on his site, noting the same skydiving suit, similar facial features, and a distinctive pair of purple-tinted glasses making multiple appearances. Information obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provided Ranger Hays with the make, model, and license plate for Propeck’s vehicle, which he was able to confirm had entered Yosemite on October 7 and departed in the late morning of October 8. Based on the Sun’s positioning in the video, Ranger Hays determined the BASE jump in question was performed at or near sunrise.
When confronted by Ranger Hays over the phone on October 20, Propeck stated that he “likes to post cool videos” on his site and that he wasn’t the jumper. After Ranger Hays noted that Propeck’s face was clearly visible on the jumper, he replied that he’d used artificial intelligence (AI) to superimpose his face. In the criminal complaint filed on December 12, 2025, Ranger Hays notes that he sees no evidence that Propeck’s AI claim is true. Propeck also allegedly argued that Ranger Hays was wasting his time because a pending court case would make BASE jumping in NPS parks legal anyway.
For someone with almost 12,000 followers on Instagram who presumably watch to admire his death-defying leaps, Propeck’s claim that he’s faked at least one of them is an interesting defense to offer. It remains to be seen if answering for his jump in a courtroom will induce the same heart-pounding thrill for Propeck that leaping off a cliff does.
Related Resources
- Vandalize a Federal Park, Go To Jail (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
- 5 Urban Sports That Might Get You Arrested (FindLaw’s Legally Weird)
- Humans in Nature: National Park Injury Roundup (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
