A non-binary national park ranger fired for unfurling a transgender pride flag from a cliff face in Yosemite National Park has sued the federal government for violating their free speech rights.
Shannon “S.J.” Joslin, 36, was among a group of climbers who scaled the California reserve’s iconic El Capitan granite formation to hang the 55′ by 35′ pink and blue standard last May in protest against the Trump administration’s anti-trans policies.
Three months later, Joslin was fired for “fail[ing] to demonstrate acceptable conduct”, and was allegedly told that they were under a criminal investigation as well.
But in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Monday, lawyers for Joslin — who was off duty the day of the climb — accused the National Park Service (NPS) and other federal bodies of “illegal and unconstitutional” retaliation for their First-Amendment-protected speech.
“For decades, climbers at Yosemite National Park have expressed messages — political and non-political — from the iconic rock formation El Capitan,” Joslin’s complaint reads.
“For this transgression, Dr. Joslin was summarily fired and then, in a significant escalation, criminally investigated.
“This vindictive campaign violated Dr. Joslin’s First Amendment and Privacy Act rights and continues to chill their expressive conduct and speech.”
As well as NPS, Joslin’s lawsuit names the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Department of Justice, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, plus Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and NPS acting director Jessica Bowron. The Independent has asked all those agencies for comment.
Joslin, a park ranger and bat biologist with a Ph.D. in genetics and a lifelong passion for climbing, was open about their motives for the stunt, saying they were “really hurting” over Trump’s assault on trans rights.
While California has robust protections against discrimination, Yosemite National Park is federal land — and the Trump administration had ordered all federal agencies to immediately enforce a trans bathroom ban on their property.
In February, NPS had also scrubbed the word “transgender” from the website of the Stonewall National Monument, despite the key role played by transgender people in the original Stonewall riot.
Joslin said they wanted to send a message that trans and non-binary people were safe at Yosemite. The flag flew for less than three hours before Joslin and their six fellow climbers took it down again.
Other flags that have been flown from El Cap include Father’s Day greetings, protests against climate change, protests against the Israel-Palestine conflict, and an inverted American flag.
Yet according to Joslin’s lawsuit, no federal employees have ever been punished for taking part in these demonstrations in the past.
The lawsuit contends that Joslin and their colleagues consulted in advance with colleagues who had attended an official NPS First Amendment training program, who assured them that they were safe as long as they were not on duty.
On May 21, the day after the protest, Yosemite authorities announced a new ban on flying large flags from most areas of the park. Though dated May 20, it was only electronically signed on May 21, according to the lawsuit.
“On information and belief, and based on the timing of the announcement, the park’s stated justification was pretext for censoring disfavored speech like Dr. Joslin’s flag demonstration,” the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit asks for a court order reinstating Joslin in their old job and banning NPS from pursuing Joslin criminally, plus damages of at least $1,000 and payment of their legal costs.
