Idaho Man Indicted after Allegedly Assaulting U.S. Park Rangers in Southern Utah

SAINT GEORGE, Utah – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging an Idaho man after he allegedly assaulted federal officers with his vehicle at the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Southern Utah.  

Gregory Aaron Farley, 51, of Hazelton, Idaho, was charged by complaint on May 3, 2025.  
    
According to court documents, on May 3, 2025, two U.S. Park Rangers working at the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area responded to a dispatch call that reported an erratic driver in a white pick-up truck near Lake Powell. At 7:47 p.m., the rangers conducted a traffic stop on Highway 89 on a pick-up truck matching the vehicle description. Farley was the driver and while one of the rangers was speaking to him, Farley fled the scene at a high rate of speed, nearly hitting one of the rangers. The rangers returned to their patrol vehicle and pursued Farley. During the pursuit, Farley turned around and collided into the driver’s side of the rangers’ vehicle. As a result, the rangers were pushed into the shoulder of the road, the airbags deployed, and the driver’s side door was rendered inoperable. After Farley hit the rangers’ truck, he reversed his truck and was still facing the rangers’ truck. In response, both rangers fired their weapons at Farley. Additional officers arrived on the scene, Farley exited his truck, and received medical aid. He was then taken into custody.  

Farley is charged with assault on an employee of the United States with a Dangerous Weapon. His initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for May 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. before a U.S. Magistrate judge in Room 2B of the courthouse located at 206 West Tabernacle Street, St. George, Utah 84470.

Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office.

Assistant United States Attorneys Stephen P. Dent and Joseph M. Hood of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 
 

Attachments: