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The National Park Service reportedly fired a trans Yosemite National Park ranger who hung a transgender pride flag across the park’s El Capitan rock formation in California earlier this year.
35-year-old Shannon “SJ” Joslin wrote an Instagram post on Monday claiming to have been fired from the park “for practicing my First Amendment right” after hanging the 55-foot by 35-foot flag across Yosemite’s iconic rock destination in May.
Joslin, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, claimed to have raised the flag while off-duty and as a private citizen.
“I was fired by the temporary Deputy Superintendent for ‘failing to demonstrate acceptable conduct’ in my capacity as a Wildlife Biologist for the park. No part of hanging the flag was done on work time. NOTHING about it had anything to do with my work,” Joslin wrote.
Joslin flew the flag for about two hours before taking it down and added that after decades of the practice “no one” had ever been punished for hanging a flag across El Capitan prior to last week.
“I want my rights and I want my career back,” Joslin demanded.
In a statement to NBC News, Rachel Pawlitz, a spokesperson for the National Park Service, said that the Department of Justice was pursuing “administrative action” against several Yosemite National Park employees and “possible criminal charges” against several park visitors for allegedly violating laws regarding demonstrations. She did not specify the details of these criminal investigations.
“However, we want to emphasize that we take the protection of the park’s resources and the experience of our visitors very seriously, and will not tolerate violations of laws and regulations that impact those resources and experiences,” Pawlitz said.
“Raising this flag in the heart of El Capitan is a celebration of our community standing in solidarity with each other and all targeted groups,” Joslin said in a statement to NBC at the time. “Trans existence is not up for debate. We are social workers, public servants, parents, and neighbors. Being trans is a natural, beautiful part of human and biological diversity. We can only make progress when we embrace diversity, not erase it.”
Shortly after the demonstration, the park’s acting superintendent, Ray McPadden, signed a directive banning “any banner, flag, or sign larger than fifteen square feet…or a series or combination of banners, flags, or signs that total more than fifteen square feet” from being displayed without a permit.
In February, park staffers hung the U.S. flag upside-down on the side of El Capitan to protest layoffs by President Donald Trump.
According to one Yosemite worker, this was done in response to the Trump administration firing 1,000 newly hired National Park Service employees.
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