A Transgender Pride flag raised over Yosemite’s El Capitan in May has now become the hill the National Park Service chose to die on—costing one ranger their job and igniting a national uproar about free speech, visibility, and hypocrisy on America’s public lands.
Dr. Shannon “SJ” Joslin, a ranger who is trans and uses they/them pronouns, was joined by activists including drag queen Pattie Gonia in what was described as “a celebration of trans belonging in nature, in community and everywhere.”
In an interview with NBC News, Joslin said they were inspired to hang the flag after a barrage of Trump-era executive orders aimed squarely at trans rights—from gutting health care access to redefining sex in a way that erases trans identities to barring trans women from competing in women’s sports.
The act—one that the First Amendment should’ve shielded—was meant to send a clear message: public lands belong to everyone, not just the straight, the cis, and the MAGA-impaired.
You can view a video from Pattie Gonia below:
Fast-forward to last week, when the 35-year-old learned their contract had been terminated—a pink slip over a pink, blue, and white banner flown in their “free time, off duty, as a private citizen.”
On Instagram, Joslin laid it out bluntly:
“It flew for a total of two hours in the morning and then I took it down. El Capitan has had flags hung on it for decades and no one has EVER been punished for it. Only me."
"I was fired by the temporary Deputy Superintendent for ‘failing to demonstrate acceptable conduct’ in my capacity as a Wildlife Biologist for the park.”
And if you think Joslin was some slacker ranger moonlighting as a weekend activist, think again.
Joslin has been a cornerstone of Yosemite for years, grinding through overtime shifts while writing guidebooks, navigating permit lines, managing chaotic tourist traffic, studying bats threatened by the deadly white-nose fungus, and even shoveling snow so wheelchair users could access bridges.
Armed with a PhD in bioinformatics and genomics from the University of California, Davis, they’ve built a career at the intersection of wildlife biology, data analysis, and conservation.
And because that somehow wasn’t enough, Joslin also trained as a Wildland Firefighter, Swift Water Rescue Technician, Search and Rescue Technician, and Wilderness First Responder—essentially Yosemite’s one-person emergency toolkit.
Basically, Yosemite’s Swiss Army knife in power ranger form.
You can view the Instagram post here:
Their reward? A termination letter from Acting Deputy Superintendent Danika Globokar accusing them of a “flag demonstration.” And when Joslin asked for proof, leadership had none.
Cue the surprise Pikachu face.
And here’s where the hypocrisy hits the granite: flags have flown from El Capitan for decades. Just this past February, park employees hoisted the U.S. flag upside down during Yosemite’s firefall to protest Trump’s cuts to national parks. Last year, activists raised a “Stop the genocide” flag in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The punishment then? Crickets. The punishment now? A ranger’s career.
Not to mention, Yosemite’s rule against flags on El Capitan wasn’t even signed until May 21 — literally the day after Joslin’s banner flew. That’s not enforcement; i’s retaliation, the kind of retroactive rule-making that defines the Trump administration.
Joslin explained:
“Hanging flags has been a tradition that climbers have done on El Cap for decades, and that’s both individuals who are visiting the park, but also employees that are on their off time."
"There’s never been any kind of ramifications to any of those flag hanging activities. I’m the only one who’s been fired for it.”’
It was also reported that the U.S. Attorney’s Office was evaluating potential criminal charges against Joslin.
The Director of the Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All campaign, Jackie Ostfeld, had this to say about the impending criminal investigation:
“El Capitan has frequently been used as a site for demonstrations of free speech. Bringing criminal charges against SJ Joslin for exercising the first amendment right to freedom of speech enjoyed by all Americans would be an act of intimidation intended to have a chilling effect on others exercising their rights. National parks help tell the story of America, and essential to that story is the freedom of speech.”
And on top of all of that, the Park Service has quietly been scrubbing its own history. NPR reports it has removed web pages highlighting queer activists who fought to preserve places like Muir Woods, echoing broader efforts under Trump to sanitize museums of inconvenient histories—from gay rights to slavery.
The internet quickly jumped in to support Joslin, condemning the termination as a bold attack on LGBTQ+ visibility and free speech:
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But Joslin isn’t going quietly. Losing a federal job means being effectively blacklisted from future government work, but they plan to fight back, seek legal counsel, and contest the decision.
Fighting back, Joslin told NBC:
“I’m going to fight this tooth and nail. I think that everyone as Americans should be upset about this, and it doesn’t matter who I am or what my identity is; this is a matter of free speech.”
Joslin’s firing isn’t just about a flag—it’s about who gets to be visible in America’s most treasured landscapes. Apparently, freedom of expression only flies if your flag comes with stars, stripes, and a heavy dose of hypocrisy.
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