Vengeance Is Mine Saith Trump

When you do stuff that is allowed but they still fire you because it was something trans related and you know how Trump & Company hates us. It was something hundreds of other people have done but because it was a trans flag... they fired her!

I Got Fired by the National Park Service. Here’s What Happened.

Shannon ‘SJ’ Joslin was terminated from their position at Yosemite National Park in August for flying a trans pride flag on El Capitan

Outside

Jayme Moye's

November 25, 2025

In August, Shannon “SJ” Joslin, a wildlife biologist and ranger at Yosemite National Park, lost their job after helping unfurl a massive transgender pride flag on the sheer granite face of El Capitan. In Yosemite, displaying flags on El Cap is a time-honored tradition dating back decades—used to mark moments of patriotism, protest, or grief. Joslin, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, is the first person to get fired from the park for the act. Joslin told Outside what it was like to lose their dream job.

It had been more than a week since we’d hung the flag, and I’d heard nothing but positive feedback. Then I got the email. It was from a chief ranger from a different national park who was in charge of investigating my actions.

I thought it was strange. I hadn’t done anything wrong. I’d hung it on my day off, with some of my climbing friends. We’d gotten the proper permit to spend the night on the wall. We’d used cams and nuts and carabiners, the same stuff big-wall climbers use, to rig the flag. And we left no trace. We took everything back down with us.

They called me into the Fort, which is where the jail is in Yosemite. And that’s presumably where all of their interrogations happen. They read me my rights. I asked if I was the subject of the criminal investigation. They said yes.

It was surreal. There’s a long history of visitors and employees hanging flags on El Cap. The employees who were associated with putting up any of the other flags didn’t get punished.

But it made national news and it was "TRANS" so therefore...

A couple months later I got the request for an in-person meeting with the acting deputy superintendent. I knew then that something serious was going to happen because deputy superintendents don’t waste their time with low-level employees like me.

I was petrified. I don’t know how much you know about park rangers, but our whole lives are our jobs. Yosemite is my home and it’s my whole identity. I’m a biologist, so I’m primarily there to support the wildlife, but I do so much more.

[...]

My meeting was August 12. Yosemite’s acting deputy superintendent Danika Globokar handed me a termination letter for “failure to demonstrate acceptable conduct.” The investigation found that I had violated a National Park Service rule that prohibits demonstrations outside of designated park areas for First Amendment activities.

The axe fell. Why? Because of bigoty! She is pursuing legal action. 

You see they call hanging the Trans flag a "demonstration" even though it was just a flag. The park service issued this statement.

The National Park Service is pursuing administrative action against multiple National Park Service employees for failing to follow National Park Service regulations.

We do not comment on the specifics of personnel actions. 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.

Earlier in 2025, several unauthorized demonstrations involving El Capitan generated numerous complaints from visitors. Yosemite National Park was designated by Congress to highlight the beautiful natural and cultural features of the area. No matter the cause, displaying signs, banners, and flags outside of designated First-Amendment areas detracts from the visitor experience and the protection of the park. To safeguard the protection of visitors, visitor experiences, and park resources, most demonstrations require a permit. 

She is pursuing legal action.