Rainbow Family gathering generates more than 100 violations, officials report
Jul. 5—The Rainbow Family of Living Light was cited for more than 120 violations during its first national gathering in the White Mountain National Forest, federal officials said Wednesday.
The violations reported by the U.S. Forest Service included drug possession, motor vehicle infractions, damage to property, and resisting law enforcement, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a text.
Of the 121 violations, 37 were resolved by the defendants paying fines ranging from $25 to $200 per violation. Another 58 violations were dismissed.
Twenty-four of the defendants did not show up on their original hearing dates, and their cases remain unresolved.
Two remaining cases have been scheduled for bench trials on Sept. 23 and Nov. 13.
"The orderly resolution of these violations was a testament to the coordination of this office, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. District Court, who agreed to host these two special sessions," U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young said in a statement.
Special sessions of the U.S. District Court's Central Violations Bureau were convened by U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrea K. Johnston at the Littleton District Courthouse in Littleton on Friday and the federal courthouse in Concord on Monday to process the violation notices.
Any additional violations issued during the Rainbow Family Gathering will be processed during the U.S. District Court's normal business.
The U.S. Forest Service said violation notices included "traffic violations, damage to natural resources, threats and/or interference with official acts, alcohol-related violations and drug charges."
The Rainbow Family is a loose-knit group of people from throughout the United States and other countries who gather annually at a national forest.
Since the first gathering near Strawberry Lake on the Arapaho National Forest in Colorado in 1972, events have taken place in a different national forest each year. This year's event, initially expected to draw about 5,000 visitors, had about 2,200 attendees on July 4, officials said.
The Forest Service requires a special use permit for every public group of 75 people or more conducting a meeting or event on National Forest System lands.
The Rainbow Family has "consistently refused to comply with the permit process during national gatherings," the Forest Service said in a statement.
"They claim to have no leaders and no one member of the group who can speak for them or sign a permit on behalf of the group," the Forest Service said.
The annual Rainbow Family gatherings cost the U.S. Forest Service between $500,000 and $700,000, the agency has said.
A group of Rainbow Family members is expected to remain on site for several weeks to work on clean-up and rehabilitation at the event site.
The Rainbow's "Vision Council" is expected to meet by the end of the week to start determining the location of the 2024 gathering.
