“I WAS JUST HUNTING WHERE I WANTED TO!”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, PROSECUTORS SAY INFLUENCER SAMANTHA STRABLE FALSELY CLAIMED WYOMING RESIDENCY TO SECURE STATE HUNTING LICENSES… AND A CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE HAS NOW SENTENCED HER TO PROBATION AND A SUSPENDED JAIL TERM.
An influencer who previously drew international attention over a viral wildlife video has been sentenced in a Wyoming hunting case.
Samantha Strable, 26, appeared in Sublette County Circuit Court on Thursday via video, the Herald Sun reported.
The court sits about 80 miles outside of Jackson Hole.
Strable pleaded no contest to hunting without a guide.
The judge sentenced her to 12 months of probation.
She also received a 180-day jail sentence, which the court suspended.
In addition, the court ordered her to pay an $800 AUD fine, equivalent to $575.40.
Prosecutors agreed to drop seven other charges against her.
Those dismissed counts included taking an animal without a license or during a closed season.
They also included multiple counts of fraud or false swearing.
Strable’s attorney, Nate Jeppsen, spoke to the court before the sentence was handed down.
Jeppsen told the court his client was not “intentionally trying to violate Wyoming game laws,” the outlet reported.
He added that she “should have been aware” of her responsibility to comply with the state’s wildlife regulations.
Strable goes by Sam Jones online.
On Nov. 21, deputies with the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office arrested her.
The arrest followed an investigation launched after the Wyoming Game and Fish Department received an anonymous tip.
According to News.com.au, the tipster reported that Strable “continues to buy resident tags even though she hasn’t resided in Wyoming for over two years — and brags about it on social media to over 90,000 followers.”
Authorities accused her of falsely claiming Wyoming residency to obtain hunting permits.
Those permits allowed the hunting of black bears, elk, mountain lions, and antelope, as well as fishing.
Under Wyoming hunting statutes, individuals lose resident status if they live outside the state for 180 days.
An affidavit filed with the court alleged that Strable spent only a week in Wyoming in 2024.
The same affidavit alleged she spent only a month in the state in 2025 while continuing to apply for resident hunting licenses.
Chilling details released as eight men including state lawyer indicted in Boone County child-predator sting
Former Kokomo basketball coach Randy Sullivan admits soliciting 15-year-old student athlete in plea deal: records
West Fargo officer Walker Koropatnicki was busted for alleged drunken driving — and placed on paid leave while his department investigates
Yet Strable strongly disputed the claims made by officials.
“That’s not the case,” she said, according to the affidavit seen by The Herald Sun.
“I was here for way more than that,” she added.
A search of the Game and Fish license database showed that Strable began purchasing resident licenses as far back as 2022, the Cowboy State Daily reported.
The Wyoming court proceedings followed earlier controversies surrounding the influencer.
Strable went viral last year after posting a video filmed alongside a road at night in Australia.
The footage showed her snatching a hysterical baby wombat from the roadside.
She then ran across the road while holding the terrified animal by its arms.
The mother wombat chased after her across the roadway.
The video, which was later deleted, triggered widespread backlash.
Strable received thousands of death threats following the upload.
Calls mounted online for her deportation from Australia.
A petition on Change.org demanding that Strable be banned from Australia gathered nearly 50,000 signatures before closing.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the incident publicly, labeling it an “outrage.”
Strable subsequently issued a response addressing the public reaction.
In her statement, she accused Australians of hypocrisy regarding the treatment of native wildlife and claimed the backlash threatened her safety.
“Am I a villain? Things, dear reader, are not as they seem,” she wrote.
“Over holding a wombat, thousands threaten my life,” she added.
Albanese responded with sharp criticism directed at the influencer’s actions.
“I suggest to this so-called influencer maybe she might try some other Australian animals,” Albanese said.
“Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there,” the prime minister added.
Strable later addressed the wombat controversy again in a follow-up statement.
She stated that she was “truly sorry for the distress” that the footage had caused.
And she maintained that her sole intention had been to ensure the safety of the animals.
No Comments yet!