Yosemite Park Ranger Who Hung Trans Flag on Famous Peak May Face Criminal Charges

A Yosemite National Park ranger was fired after hanging a pride flag from El Capitan, and some park visitors could face prosecution under protest restrictions that have been tightened under President Donald Trump.

Shannon “SJ” Joslin, a ranger and biologist who studies bats, said she hung a 66-foot wide transgender pride flag on the famous climbing wall that looms over the California park’s main thoroughfare for about two hours on May 20 before taking it down voluntarily. A termination letter she received last week accused her of “failing to demonstrate acceptable conduct” in her capacity as a biologist and cited the May incident.

“I was really hurting because there were a lot of policies coming from the current administration that target trans people, and I’m nonbinary,” Joslin told the Associated Press, adding that hanging the flag was her way of saying, “We’re all safe in national parks.”

Joslin said her firing sends the opposite message: “If you’re a federal worker and you have any kind of identity that doesn’t agree with this current administration, then you must be silent, or you will be eliminated.”

Park officials on Tuesday said they were working with the U.S. Justice Department to pursue visitors and workers who violated restrictions on demonstrations at the park that had more than 4 million visitors last year.

The agencies “are pursuing administrative action against several Yosemite National Park employees and possible criminal charges against several park visitors who are alleged to have violated federal laws and regulations related to demonstrations,” National Park Service spokesperson Rachel Pawlitz said.

Joslin said a group of seven climbers including two other park rangers hung the flag. The other rangers are on administrative leave pending an investigation, she said.

On May 21, a day after the flag display, Acting Superintendent Ray McPadden signed a rule prohibiting people from hanging banners, flags or signs larger than 15 square feet in park areas designated as “wilderness” or “potential wilderness.” That covers 94 percent of the park, according to Yosemite’s website.

Park officials said the new restriction was needed to preserve Yosemite’s wilderness and protect climbers.

“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.

This year, Trump signed an executive order changing the federal definition of sex, stating, “Sex shall refer to an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female.” He also banned trans women from competing in women’s sports, removed trans people from the military, and limited access to “gender-affirming” care.

The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.

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