Yosemite Employee Fired After Flying Trans Pride Flag
Shannon “SJ” Joslin says they were fired for exercising freedom of speech.
Shannon "SJ" Joslin speaks during a Pride protest near the welcome center in Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, on Saturday, June 21, 2025.
Photographer: Tracy BarbutesA federal employee of Yosemite National Park was fired last week after flying a large transgender pride flag from a prominent natural feature.
Shannon “SJ” Joslin, who’d worked as a wildlife biologist in Yosemite since 2021, unfurled the 55-by-35-foot flag from the middle of El Capitan with six fellow rock climbers on May 20. The action followed the Trump administration’s moves to erase mentions of trans and other LGBTQ people from government websites and to discharge trans service members from the military, among other actions aimed at restricting the rights of trans people. “I was just really hurting and thinking, ‘What can I do to stop the hurt?’” says Joslin, who identifies as nonbinary.