A probationary wildlife biologist for Yosemite National Park who identifies as “non-binary” covered the side of El Capitan with a gargantuan trans-activist flag last year to protest the Trump administration’s reality-affirming policies regarding gender.
Shannon Joslin, a female resident of El Portal, California, found out the hard way that actions have consequences — and was fired.
‘Demonstrating without a permit outside of designated First Amendment areas detracts from the visitor experience.’
The LGBT activist filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday, demanding her job back and claiming that the Department of the Interior violated her First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
The protest
Joslin and several other climbers rigged a 55’x35′ trans activist flag roughly one-third of the way up El Capitan on May 20, 2025, where it flapped for hours.
According to her complaint, Joslin came up with the idea to rig a flag on El Capitan as a “statement in support of trans people,” then worked over the course of multiple weeks with other activists to “stake out the technical logistics of fixing a sizable flag to the rock face.”
In the corresponding press release where she boasted about the protest, Joslin indicated that those responsible were “social workers, public servants, parents, and neighbors.”
She told Climbing.com, “Calling congressmen and writing representatives feels like yelling into the void. We have this f**king microphone that is El Cap.”
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El Capitan. Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Wyn Riley, a drag queen who goes by “Pattie Gonia,” was among the supporters of the protest. In a May 22, 2025, propaganda video featuring several clips of Joslin securing the flag, Riley said, “The Trump administration and transphobes would love to have you believe that being trans is unnatural.”
“Call it a protest; call it a celebration,” continued Riley. “We are bringing elevation to liberation.”
The complaint alleges that Joslin was off-duty “at all times during the preparation for and placement and display of the trans pride flag.”
The fallout
Documents show that Joslin received a notice of termination in late July indicating that she was out of a job effective Aug. 12, 2025.
The letter provided a reminder that the purpose of the two-year trial period that started for Joslin on Sept. 10, 2023, is to “determine whether newly appointed Federal employees are suitable for successful service in the areas of conduct and performance.”
“During your trial period, you have failed to demonstrate acceptable conduct,” continued the letter. “Specifically, on or about May 20, 2025, you participated in a small group demonstration in an area outside the designated protest and demonstration area without permit as required by 36 CFR 2.51 and thus circumvented rules applicable to all park visitors.”
Neither the Department of the Interior nor the National Park Service would comment on the specifics of the relevant personnel actions.
However, they both shared a statement with Blaze News noting, “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.”
“Yosemite National Park was designated by Congress to highlight the beautiful natural and cultural features of the area,” continued the statement. “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. To safeguard the protection of visitors, visitor experiences, and park resources, many demonstrations require a permit.”
The lawsuit
Joslin’s lawsuit, in which she is referred to with plural pronouns, complains about Trump’s rebuff of gender ideology and reality-affirming policies; claims that Joslin has faced “medical, financial, personal, and professional harm” as the result of her termination; and alleges that the decision to fire her violated the “First Amendment by selectively targeting for retaliation specific forms of expression based on content and viewpoint.”
The lawsuit — which lists the NPS, the Interior Department, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Attorney General Pam Bondi as defendants — also alleges that the National Park Service used a press release regarding the stunt from Joslin’s protest group against her, suggesting that doing so was a violation of the Privacy Act of 1974.
The “non-binary” activist not only wants her old job back but damages and a declaratory judgment that “Defendants’ collection and use of information about Dr. Joslin’s protected First Amendment activity was unlawful.”
Joanna Citron Day, one of Joslin’s attorneys, said in a release, “If Dr. Joslin had hung a flag the administration liked, they would be working at Yosemite today.”
Regardless of the colors, Yosemite National Park maintains its prohibition for “any person or group to hang or otherwise affix to any natural or cultural feature, or display so as to cover any natural or cultural feature, any banner, flag, or sign larger than fifteen square feet (e.g., 5 feet x 3 feet).”
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