Utah lawmaker pays off restitution for ATV protest ride

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A state lawmaker who was found guilty several years ago of leading an illegal ATV protest ride through a southern Utah canyon has paid off restitution to end a legal battle over the matter.

Phil Lyman paid the $86,305 Monday when the court received his personal check, according to a court filing Tuesday.

The lump sum payment comes after Lyman declined to provide his tax returns to prosecutors who wanted to see them to determine if they could increase Lyman's $100-a-month payments he was making.

Lyman, a Republican, became a cause celebre in the movement challenging U.S. management of Western public lands when he led an all-terrain vehicle protest ride in 2014 through a canyon that officials had closed to motorized traffic to protect ruins that are nearly 2,000 years old. He was a San Juan County commissioner at the time.

He served 10 days in jail after a jury found him guilty of illegal use of ATVs and conspiracy. Lyman appealed the conviction but lost.

Lyman said after a September court hearing about the payments that he wanted to pay it off “to be done with this ridiculous nonsense,” the Deseret News reported.