ATLANTA, GA – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has affirmed two misdemeanor convictions against Rady Williams, who was cited for unauthorized commercial activity and for interfering with a National Park Service ranger while inside Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park.
Williams was convicted following a bench trial before a magistrate judge in the Northern District of Georgia. The court found him guilty of conducting commercial operations without a permit under 36 C.F.R. § 5.3, and of resisting and intentionally interfering with a government employee performing official duties under 36 C.F.R. § 2.32(a)(1). The convictions stemmed from multiple incidents between Williams and park rangers in 2022 and 2023. The consolidated appeals were filed under Eleventh Circuit case numbers 24-14167 and 24-14168, related to district court docket numbers 1:24-cr-00267-MHC-1 and 1:22-mj-00786-JKL-1.
According to testimony and body-camera footage, Williams was repeatedly seen attempting to sell t-shirts and drinks within park boundaries without a permit. Park rangers testified that he had been previously warned and cited. In one instance, Williams set up a drink cooler on a sidewalk, impeding pedestrian access. When the chief ranger attempted to arrest him, Williams resisted, causing injury to the ranger.
On appeal, Williams challenged the sufficiency of the evidence and the park ranger’s jurisdiction, claiming the arrest took place on private property. The Eleventh Circuit rejected those arguments, ruling that the private property in question was within the park’s boundaries, and that federal regulations apply regardless of land ownership inside park areas.
The court also found that the evidence, including witness accounts and video, supported both convictions. It ruled that Williams’s refusal to comply with the ranger’s orders and active resistance during the arrest constituted intentional interference under park regulations.
