AP
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The Yosemite National Park ranger was fired after raising the Pride flag from El Pitan, and some visitors faced potential prosecution on allegations of violations of protest restrictions that were tightened under President Donald Trump.
Bat-student ranger and biologist Shannon “SJ” Jocelyn said he slammed a major highway in California Park about two hours on May 20 before shaking a 66-foot wide transgender pride flag on the famous climbing wall that will spontaneously remove it. The dismissal letter they received last week accused Jocelyn of “failing to demonstrate acceptable conduct” in her biologist capabilities, citing the May incident.
“It really hurts because there was a lot of policy coming from the current administration targeting trans people. I’m non-binary,” Jocelyn, 35, told The Associated Press, adding that raising the flag “says ourselves…we’re all safe in national parks.”
Jocelyn said their dismissal would send a message of opposition: “If you are a federal worker and you have an identity that disagrees with this current administration, you must be silent or you will be eliminated.”
Park officials on Tuesday said they are working with the U.S. Department of Justice to pursue visitors and workers who violated demonstration restrictions in the park, which has more than 4 million visitors last year.
According to National Park Service spokesman Rachel Paulitz, the agency “sought administrative action against multiple Yosemite National Park employees and the possibility of criminal charges against park visitors who allegedly violate federal laws and regulations relating to the demonstration.”
Jocelyn said a group of seven climbers, including two other park rangers, had hanged the flag. Other rangers are on administrative leave waiting for an investigation, Jocelyn said.
The flag has been on display from El Capitan for a long time, according to Joanna Citron Day, a former federal lawyer who is currently with civil servants for advocacy groups for environmental responsibility. She said the group represents Jocelyn, but there are no pending legal cases.
On May 21, the day after the flag display, acting director Ray McPaden signed a rule banning people from flags, flags or signs exceeding 15 square feet in park areas designated as “wild and/or “potential wilderness.” According to Yosemite’s website, this covers 94% of the park.
Parks officials said new restrictions on the demonstration were needed to maintain the wilderness of Yosemite and protect climbers.
“We take the park’s resources conservation and the visitors’ experience very seriously and do not tolerate violations of laws or regulations that affect those resources or experiences,” Pawlitz said.
This follows a widely publicized case of protesters turning the American flag upside down on Elpitan in February after the Trump administration fired a National Park Service employee.
Among the small group of climbers who helped hang the flag was Patigonia, an environmentalist and a drag queen who used performance art to raise awareness of conservation issues. For the past five years, Gonia has helped organize pride events in Yosemite for park employees and their allies. She said she hung a transgender flag on a granite monolith to get home that it’s natural to be transgender.
Trump has changed the definition of the federal definition of sex to limit access to gender-affirming healthcare, ban trans women from competition in sports, remove trans people from the military, and eliminate the concept of gender identity.
Gonia called the firing unfair. Jocelyn said they hanged the flag as civilians during their free time.
“SJ is a respected pillar within the Yosemite community and is a consistently more tireless volunteer,” Gonia said.
Jason O’Neill said the advocacy group Save Orparks and Jocelyn’s shootings were intended to threaten park employees for expressing their views as the Trump administration pursues substantial cuts to the federal workforce.
Since Trump took office, the National Park Service has lost around 2,500 employees from a workforce of around 10,000 people, Wade said. The Republican president is proposing to cut the agency’s budget by $900 million next year.
Pawlitz said many visitors complained about the fraudulent demonstrations about El Capitan at the beginning of the year.
Many parks have designated “First Amendment Conditions” that allow people up to 25 or fewer people to protest without permission. Yosemite has several first revised areas, including one in the Yosemite Valley where Elpitan is located.
Billwade, executive director of the National Park Rangers Association, said that Park Service Rules for demonstrations have been around for decades and has endured several court challenges. He was not aware of any changes in how these rules were enacted under Trump.
