Park ranger who hung trans pride flag in Yosemite says they were fired

Three months aft a radical of climbers hung a transgender pridefulness emblem from El Capitan, an iconic stone enactment successful Yosemite, the National Park Service fired a parkland ranger who was progressive successful the display, the erstwhile worker said.

Shannon "SJ" Joslin was terminated past week aft moving for astir 5 years arsenic a ranger and wildlife biologist astatine the bluish California nationalist park, Joslin wrote successful a societal media post Monday that has since garnered wide attraction online. 

"In May I hung a trans emblem connected El Capitan that celebrated my acceptance of my identity," Joslin captioned the post. "I hung the emblem successful my escaped time, off-duty, arsenic a backstage citizen. It flew for a full of 2 hours successful the greeting and past I took it down."

Joslin referred to their ranger presumption arsenic a "dream job." They were fired by a parkland authoritative for "failing to show acceptable conduct" successful their relation arsenic a Yosemite wildlife biologist, according to the societal media post, which accuses the National Park Service of violating their law rights to escaped expression.

"Preservation has been my life's work—of Yosemite, the wildlife, the land, recreation, of peoples rights and safety, of assemblage and acceptance, and present the Constitutional First Amendment," Joslin wrote, adding, "I privation my rights and I privation my vocation back."

The National Park Service said successful a connection that its leadership, on with authorities astatine the U.S. Department of Justice, "are pursuing administrative enactment against respective Yosemite National Park employees and imaginable transgression charges against respective parkland visitors who are alleged to person violated national laws and regulations related to demonstrations."

The connection did not specify what laws and regulations were violated. It said the parkland work could not stock details astir "the specifics of unit actions oregon transgression investigations" related to the matter.

A radical of climbers unfurled a trans pridefulness emblem connected El Capitan successful Yosemite National Park, California, connected Tuesday, May 20, 2025. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

The emblem that Joslin helped equine flew concisely from a spot adjacent the acme of El Capitan, which towers implicit Yosemite Valley and is the park's astir recognizable landmark, connected May 20. 

The adjacent time the park's acting superintendent signed an updated compendium, dated May 20, which includes regulations banning ample banners, flags oregon signs displayed successful the wilderness without a permit. Also included successful the compendium are rules governing demonstrations wrong the park, which likewise necessitate permits unless they impact less than 25 radical and instrumentality spot successful 1 of the park's designated "free code locations."

A previous mentation of the compendium, dated May 22, 2024, which was linked to the Yosemite website as precocious arsenic May 1, 2025, did not see a regularisation astir banners and flags.

Flags and banners person been hung from Yosemite's El Capitan successful the past, including an upside-down American flag successful February successful effect to the Trump administration's firings of national workers and a banner successful protestation of the warfare successful Gaza past June. The upside-down American emblem besides was hung by workers astatine the nationalist park.

The radical progressive successful stringing up the trans pridefulness emblem successful May described it as "an epic reminder that queer radical beryllium everywhere—on large walls, connected the trails, and serving and protecting our nationalist lands." It appeared connected the stone enactment successful the weeks starring up to Pride Month, and arsenic critics of the Trump medication saw argumentation decisions proceed to target transgender Americans.

In its statement, the National Park Service said "several unauthorized demonstrations involving El Capitan generated galore complaints from visitors," successful 2024, but did not elaborate connected what demonstrations.

"No substance the cause, displaying signs, banners, and flags extracurricular of designated First-Amendment areas detracts from the visitant acquisition and the extortion of the park," the connection said. "To safeguard the extortion of visitors, visitant experiences, and parkland resources, astir demonstrations necessitate a permit."

• Yosemite National Park
• National Park Service
• LGBTQ+