National Park Service fired Yosemite ranger Shannon Joslin over transgender flag protest, referred them for prosecution

On July 30, 2025, the National Park Service fired Yosemite wildlife biologist and park ranger Shannon Joslin (they/them), ending a 4.5-year NPS career, handing them a "Notice of Termination During Trial Period" for "failing to demonstrate acceptable conduct." The termination followed a protest in which Joslin and a group of fellow activists climbed roughly a third of the way up El Capitan on May 20, 2025 -- their day off -- and hung a large transgender pride flag along the granite face for about two hours, in response to what their later lawsuit described as an "early 2025 uptick in attacks on transgender and LGBTQ people" and in solidarity with federal workers targeted since the start of the second Trump administration.

The day after the flag display, Yosemite's superintendent updated the park's Superintendent's Compendium to ban hanging or displaying any banner, flag, or sign larger than 15 square feet on a park feature outside designated demonstration areas, citing wilderness-character and visitor-experience justifications; NPS did not sign and publish the change until May 21. It was this after-the-fact rule that Yosemite leadership cited when it terminated Joslin more than two months later. Joslin had consulted colleagues who had attended NPS First Amendment training and been told that, so long as they were off duty, they retained full First Amendment rights, and scheduled the protest for a day off on that understanding.

Days after the termination, NPS opened a criminal investigation into Joslin over the flag display and referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California -- a Department of Justice component -- which began evaluating possible criminal charges against Joslin and other participants, an NPS spokesperson confirmed to reporters at the time.

Updates

2026-02-23 — Joslin sued Interior, NPS, DOJ, and Bondi over the firing and probe [1, 3]

Joslin filed a federal lawsuit naming the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, the Department of Justice, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and other officials, arguing the termination and the ongoing criminal investigation were viewpoint-based retaliation for protected off-duty speech, and asked the court to reinstate them, award damages, and enjoin the criminal investigation.

2026-06-12 — Judge dismissed employment claims, denied injunction bid [3, 4]

U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston granted the government's motion to dismiss Joslin's employment-related claims without leave to amend, ruling the Civil Service Reform Act channels such claims away from district court, and denied Joslin's motion for a preliminary injunction seeking reinstatement, finding the court lacked authority to decide whether the firing was unconstitutional or to block a potential criminal case. The portions of the complaint concerning the criminal investigation and Privacy Act claims were dismissed with leave to amend.

2026-07-10 — Joslin filed second amended complaint [3]

Joslin filed a second amended complaint against all defendants; the government's motion to dismiss that complaint was due August 10, 2026.