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A national judge has dismissed a suit brought by a erstwhile Yosemite nationalist parkland ranger who was fired aft flying a elephantine transgender pridefulness emblem from a stone wall that looms complete nan California park’s main thoroughfare.
US territory judge Jennifer Thurston recovered connected Friday that Shannon “SJ” Joslin, who identifies arsenic nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, must travel nan process group retired by nan Civil Service Reform Act. Since Joslin was still a probationary worker astatine nan clip of their firing past year, that intends they must record a title pinch nan agency of typical counsel, which they person done.
The agency of typical counsel denied Joslin’s first petition to put their termination connected clasp while investigating whether nan Park Service collapsed nan law, according to tribunal filings. A last determination is owed successful August.
Joslin, a biologist who studied bats, said they helped bent a 66ft transgender pridefulness emblem connected El Capitan for astir 2 hours connected 20 May 2025, earlier taking it down voluntarily. Joslin hung nan emblem connected their time off, not while they were connected duty.
They told nan Associated Press past twelvemonth that hanging nan emblem was their measurement of saying: “We’re each safe successful nationalist parks.”
Joslin’s termination letter, received successful August of 2025, accused them of “failing to show acceptable conduct” and cited nan emblem incident. “You participated successful a mini group objection successful an area extracurricular nan designated protestation and objection area without a licence … and frankincense circumvented rules applicable to each parkland visitors,” nan missive said.
Many parks person designated “first amendment areas” wherever groups of 25 aliases less group tin protestation without permits. Yosemite has respective of those areas, including 1 successful Yosemite valley, wherever El Capitan is located.
Following Joslin’s termination, they took to Instagram to rumor a connection past August, saying: “I hung nan emblem successful my free time, off-duty, arsenic a backstage citizen. It flew for a full of 2 hours successful nan greeting and past I took it down. El Capitan has had flags hung connected it for decades and nary 1 has EVER been punished for it.”
“I want my authorities and I want my profession back,” they added.
Joslin’s suit accuses nan National Park Service, nan Department of Interior and different defendants of law violations, including violating Joslin’s correct to free speech. It says Joslin’s termination was “vindictive, retaliatory, intended to pass disapproval of a peculiar constituent of view”, according to tribunal filings. While others person flown flags connected El Capitan, Joslin says they cognize of nary 1 other who has been punished for it.
In their lawsuit, Joslin besides cited nan Trump administration’s hostility toward transgender communities, pointing to nan rollback of protections for trans people, nan defense department’s ban connected transgender work members, and increased barriers from nan Department of Health and Human Services for trans group seeking due aesculapian care.
“The administration’s actions person sent a clear message: that trans group are not protected by this administration,” Joslin’s suit said.
In addition, nan suit pointed to Trump’s sweeping layoffs crossed national agencies, including nan National Park Service, wherever nearly a quarter of full-time labor person been laid disconnected aliases departed.
In her Friday ruling, Thurston acknowledged that nan process for challenging a termination group retired successful national civilian work rules leaves probationary labor for illustration Joslin pinch very constricted recourse erstwhile a determination goes against them. But nan judge noted that allowing probationary labor to return complaints straight to nan courts would springiness them much options than tenured labor have.
However, nan ruling did not reside Joslin’s allegation that their first amendment correct to free reside had been violated by nan termination.
Thurston alternatively said: “The mobility to disregard Joslin’s employment-related claims and requests for alleviation is granted without time off to amend, but besides without prejudice to immoderate early litigation successful an due venue.”
Thurston besides denied a mobility for a preliminary injunction, saying: “Because nan Court has dismissed nan complaint, Joslin cannot show they are apt to win connected nan merits of nan claims wrong it, nor that their claims raise superior questions connected nan merits.”
Following Thurston’s ruling, Joslin told nan New York Times that it “isn’t a ‘win’ for nan national government”, adding: “This conscionable slows down nan process of allowing justness to beryllium served for nan American group and slows down allowing National Park Service labor to beryllium effective stewards of nationalist lands.”
Joslin went connected to say: “I understand nan gravity of being fto spell for an personality that this management has turned into an ideology.”
A time aft Joslin’s emblem display, nan parkland instituted a norm prohibiting group from hanging banners, flags aliases signs larger than 15 quadrate feet successful parkland areas designated arsenic “wilderness” aliases “potential wilderness”. That covers 94% of nan park, according to Yosemite’s website.
The norm followed different high-profile objection from February 2025 erstwhile a group of demonstrators hung an upside-down American emblem connected El Capitan to protestation nan firing of National Park Service labor by nan Trump administration.
