From what little I know about BASE jumping I learned from one of the jumpers referred to in the attached article.
They know full well that when they BASE jump that they are trespassing, and could get caught and ticketed. One thing that they never do is cause damage to whatever structure they are jumping from, as that would add destruction of property to any charges if caught.
They scout jump areas for several days, trying to find the best way in and the best way not to get caught. That tells me that the hole in the fence had been there at least a week. These guys admitted going around a tarp covering the hole. (And no I don’t think they cut the fence previously, hoping it wouldn’t get fixed)
Since security and the uppers knew about the hole since at least mid-September, you would think that area would be patrolled just a tad bit better.
While I am certain that most base jumpers are relatively ethical in their activities. The fact that they are doing what is illegal to do in the first place makes them more likely to do something like cut a hole in the fence.
Having said that, that does not mean I believe they should be charged with such unless it can be shown that they did it.