Shannon ‘SJ’ Joslin Was Fired For Hanging a Flag in Yosemite. They’re Now Suing the Federal Government.

A former employee of the National Park Service who was fired last year after hanging a transgender pride flag at Yosemite National Park has filed a lawsuit against several federal agencies and officials. The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Washington, D.C. on February 23, alleges violations of the First Amendment.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the legal filing names the Interior Department, the National Park Service, and the Justice Department as defendants. Also listed are Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

In May 2025, Shannon “SJ” Joslin, a former wildlife biologist and ranger at Yosemite, lost their job after helping unfurl a massive transgender pride flag on the sheer granite face of El Capitan on May 20, 2025. Joslin was one of seven others who hung the 55-foot-by-35-foot blue, pink, and white flag after the Trump administration rolled back rights for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

As Outside previously reported, displaying flags on El Capitan is a time-honored tradition dating back decades. Flags were hung 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.

“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,” Joslin told Outside. 

The Wall Street Journal reviewed a copy of Joslin’s termination notice, reporting that it claimed Joslin “failed to demonstrate acceptable conduct during employment and the flag display occurred in an area where such demonstrations aren’t allowed.” Joslin reportedly had four weeks left in their two-year probationary period. The complaint noted that the NPS had opened a criminal probe into the situation.

The NPS told Outside that the agency does 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,” an NPS spokesperson said. “No matter the cause, demonstrating without a permit outside of designated First-Amendment areas detracts from the visitor experience and the protection of the park.”

Joslin is asking the court to restore their position with the NPS, award damages, and end the criminal investigation.