Michael Winter

USA TODAY

Two former Boy Scout leaders are facing felony charges for knocking over a prehistoric rock formation in Utah, which was triumphantly recorded and posted to YouTube.

Glenn Taylor, 45, was charged Friday with criminal mischief for toppling the mushroom-shape rock Oct. 11 in Goblin Valley State Park, in southeastern Utah. David Hall, 42, was charged with aiding criminal mischief for recording the destruction.

If convicted, they could face up to five years in prison and be fined up to $5,000.

The pair, from Highland, have said they dethroned the sandstone hoodoo out of concern it would fall on some unsuspecting child. Park officials said the rock had been standing since at least the beginning of human existence.

"We've said what needed to be said in the past, we've apologized, we've said we're sorry, we're happy to see this thing coming to an end," Hall told KSL-TV on Friday. "We're just not going to be making any interview appointments, statements, anything. What's said has already been said."

The video, which has been viewed more than 4.6 million times, shows Taylor pushing over the rock, which weighed thousands of pounds. He and friends then laugh, cheer and high-five.

"We have a new modified Goblin Valley," Hall says into the camera. "A new Goblin Valley exists with this boulder down here on the bottom."

"That's crazy, it was just held up by that little bit of dirt," he adds. "Some little kid was about ready to walk down here and die, and Glenn saved his life by getting the boulder out of the way."

The Boy Scouts later removed Taylor and Hall from their leadership roles.

Taylor's attorney, Scott Card, told the Associated Press that he understands that the state filed the third-degree felony charges for "deterrent effect."

"But I believe it's an overcharge," he said.

After being contacted by angry Utahans, Rep. Dixon Pitcher, R-Ogden, learned there was no law specifically addressing the vandalism, the Salt Lake Tribunenoted. Monday, lawmakers will discuss his legislation to protect the landscape in state parks.