As the saying goes, “That’s why we can’t have nice things.” Jokes aside (because vandalism is definitely not funny): When three visitors to Joshua Tree National Park attacked various signs and facilities with a paintball gun, it was illegal.

The National Park Service (NPS) has charged three German tourists for “shooting paintballs at signs, toilets and garbage containers in Joshua Tree National Park on August 4.” The maximum penalty is a $5,000 fine and/or up to six months in prison.

After a park ranger initially spotted the fresh yellow paintball splatters on buildings and signs, police rangers came to investigate. They found a slingshot “in plain sight in a vehicle.” According to the NPS, paintball markers and slingshots are considered weapons that the NPS does not allow on the lands it manages.

Police officers confronted the vehicle owners, who admitted to firing paintballs the previous night using a compressed paintball gun or paintball marker.

“Defacement or alteration of the NPS landscape, no matter how small, is against the law,” said Jeff Filosa, assistant chief ranger of Joshua Tree National Park. “It harms the natural environment that millions of people around the world come to enjoy.”

Filosa adds that removing graffiti of all kinds takes time and resources that could be used for other priorities. According to the NPS, park maintenance staff cleans up these visitors’ handiwork.

Here is an example of recent vandalism in Joshua Tree:

Have you ever seen visitors doing illegal things in a national park?