National Park Service Fires Employee for Practicing First Amendment Right

August 19, 2025

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA (August 29, 2025) /SPORTSWIRE WOMEN/ — On August 12, Shannon “SJ” Joslin (they/them), a dedicated park ranger at Yosemite National Park, was fired for hanging a trans flag on El Capitan on May 20th while off-duty and not using any park resources.

This unjust dismissal violates Joslin’s First Amendment right. It is also in direct conflict with Trump’s executive order on “Restoring Free Speech and Ending Federal Censorship” enacted earlier this year. The executive order states no federal official is allowed to infringe upon free speech or use government resources to do so. And yet, Joslin was dismissed for that exact activity.

At the time of the celebration on May 20th, Yosemite regulations did not prohibit the hanging of flags. The very next day, the National Park Service rewrote the park rules to ban hanging large flags in wilderness areas, including the face of El Capitan. Park leadership backdated the update to the Superintendent’s Compendium, pretending like the restriction had always been in place.

There has been a long tradition of climbers hanging large flags on El Capitan dating back decades. Flags to signify piracy, support for climate change, and more recently a “Stop the Genocide” message in June 2024 and an upside-down American flag in February 2025 during the park’s Firefall event.

Joslin commented “My firing isn’t just about one ranger. It’s about whether everyone has the right to speak freely in the United States. This kind of targeting threatens the rights of civil servants, and by extension, all Americans, to speak freely.”

Joslin is a beloved member of the Yosemite community, having managed the Big Wall Bats program, served as the park’s wildlife data scientist, volunteered countless hours to improve visitor experiences and public safety, and authored Yosemite climbing guidebooks. Their performance reviews were consistently excellent. Advocates argue that Joslin’s termination violates federal anti-discrimination policy as well as the First Amendment.

Drag Queen and Nat Geo environmentalist Pattie Gonia (she/they) “Firing SJ Joslin is a direct violation of their constitutional First Amendment right. This unjust action is not just an attack on SJ, but a targeted move by the Trump administration to silence voices that hold viewpoints different than their own and punish anyone who practices free speech and dares to stand in defiance of the erasure of trans people.SJ is a respected pillar within the Yosemite community, a tireless volunteer who consistently goes above and beyond to ensure the safety of visitors in one of the country’s most revered national parks. To strip SJ of their position is not only an affront to their personal freedom but an attack on the very values of service, dedication, and community that SJ embodies. This is about silencing those who oppose injustice and we must not let that happen.”

Fellow climbers, allies, and community members are calling for Joslin’s immediate reinstatement, an independent investigation into Yosemite’s discriminatory employment practices, and full transparency from the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior. They are encouraging everyone to email Yosemite’s Superintendent’s Office yose_superintendent@nps.gov, recent Acting Superintendent at raymond_mcpadden@nps.gov and recent Acting Deputy Superintendent danika_globokar@nps.gov to call for the same. This new leadership team, who made the decision to fire Joslin, has only been in place in Yosemite since May.

“In America, our freedoms matter. This country was built on the right to have a voice, and to be able to celebrate who we are.” Joslin said. “Our team followed every written and unwritten rule, left no trace, and honored Yosemite’s accepted traditions. Flying the trans flag signified acceptance and safety within the park. If this administration starts telling park rangers we are not allowed the constitutional right of free speech as private civilians, what is to stop them from taking it from you next?”