Punxsutawney Phil ‘indicted’ for botched Groundhog Day spring forecast

AP


CINCINNATI – The most famous groundhog in the United States, Punxsutawney Phil, might want to go back into hibernation because he faces a “criminal indictment” for falsely predicting an early spring.

Tradition has it that winter will end quickly if the rodent sees his shadow after emerging from his western Pennsylvania lair Feb. 2, an annual ceremony dating back to the 19th century and immortalized in the Bill Murray movie “Groundhog Day.”

Phil saw his shadow this year — but his prediction was wrong. Spring only arrived Wednesday, and temperatures are still hovering just below freezing in much of the Northeast.

Shivering Americans are vilifying Punxsutawney Phil on social media sites, and one prosecutor in Ohio is even filing charges against the animal.

“Punxsutawney Phil did purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the people to believe that spring would come early,” Mike Gmoser, the prosecutor in southwestern Ohio’s Butler County, wrote in an official-looking indictment. Gmoser said Punxsutawney Phil is charged with misrepresentation of spring, which constitutes a felony “against the peace and dignity of the state of Ohio.” The penalty Phil faces? Death, Gmoser said, tongue firmly in cheek.

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