{"id":2476750,"date":"2025-08-20T12:53:55","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T16:53:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/yosemite-park-ranger-who-hung-trans-flag-on-famous-peak-may-face-criminal-charges\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T12:58:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T16:58:05","slug":"yosemite-park-ranger-who-hung-trans-flag-on-famous-peak-may-face-criminal-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/yosemite-park-ranger-who-hung-trans-flag-on-famous-peak-may-face-criminal-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Yosemite Park Ranger Who Hung Trans Flag on Famous Peak May Face Criminal Charges"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fyosemite-park-ranger-who-hung-trans-flag-on-famous-peak-may-face-criminal-charges%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2476750&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Yosemite National Park ranger, Shannon &#8220;SJ&#8221; Joslin, was fired after displaying a 66-foot transgender pride flag on El Capitan for about two hours on May 20. joslin,a nonbinary biologist and bat researcher,saeid the action was meant too send a message of safety and inclusion for LGBTQ+ individuals in the national parks. Her termination letter cited unacceptable conduct related to the incident. Other rangers involved have been placed on administrative leave. In response, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/4-injured-in-amusement-park-accident-in-iowa\/\" title=\"4 injured in amusement ... accident in Iowa\">park officials<\/a> tightened rules prohibiting banners<\/a>, flags, or signs larger than 15 square feet in designated wilderness areas, which cover 94% of the park, citing the need to protect the surroundings and visitor experience. The National Park Service is collaborating with the Department of Justice to pursue administrative actions against employees and possible criminal charges against visitors who violated exhibition rules. This advancement comes amid the Trump management&#8217;s policies restricting transgender rights, including redefinitions of sex, bans on transgender women in women&#8217;s sports, removal of transgender individuals from the military, and limitations on gender-affirming care.  <\/p>\n<div id=\"ld-4686-3758\"><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:14832835450050406,size:[0, 0],id:\"ld-4686-3758\"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/cdn2.decide.dev\/_js\/ajs.js\";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,\"script\",\"ld-ajs\");<\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A Yosemite National Park ranger was fired after hanging a pride flag from El Capitan, and some park visitors could face prosecution under protest restrictions that have been tightened under President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Shannon &ldquo;SJ&rdquo; Joslin, a ranger and biologist who studies bats, said she hung a 66-foot wide <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/female-cyclists-allege-tricked-racing-transgender-competitor-hidden-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">transgender<\/a> pride flag on the famous climbing wall that looms over the California park&rsquo;s main thoroughfare for about two hours on May 20 before taking it down voluntarily. A termination letter she received last week accused her of &ldquo;failing to demonstrate acceptable conduct&rdquo; in her capacity as a biologist and cited the May incident.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I was really hurting because there were a lot of policies coming from the current administration that target <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/riley-gaines-gets-ultimate-vindication-3-years-later-transgender-swimmer-lia-thomas-erased-record-book\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trans<\/a> people, and I&rsquo;m nonbinary,&rdquo; Joslin told the Associated Press, adding that hanging the flag was her way of saying, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re all safe in national parks.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Joslin said her firing sends the opposite message: &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re a federal worker and you have any kind of identity that doesn&rsquo;t agree with this current administration, then you must be silent, or you will be eliminated.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Park officials on Tuesday said they were working with the U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trumps-doj-hammers-california-climate-madness-two-new-lawsuits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Justice Department<\/a> to pursue visitors and workers who violated restrictions on demonstrations at the park that had more than 4 million visitors last year.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>The agencies &ldquo;are pursuing administrative action against several Yosemite National Park employees and possible criminal charges against several park visitors who are alleged to have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watchdog-hits-mcauliffe-with-campaign-finance-complaint\/\" title=\"Watchdog Hits McAuliffe With Campaign Finance Complaint\">violated federal laws<\/a> and regulations related to demonstrations,&rdquo; National Park Service spokesperson Rachel Pawlitz said.<\/p>\n<p>Joslin said a group of seven climbers including two other park rangers hung the flag. The other rangers are on administrative leave pending an investigation, she said.<\/p>\n<p>On May 21, a day after the flag display, Acting Superintendent Ray McPadden signed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/yose\/learn\/management\/upload\/yose-compendium.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rule prohibiting people from hanging<\/a> banners, flags or signs larger than 15 square feet in park areas designated as &ldquo;wilderness&rdquo; or &ldquo;potential wilderness.&rdquo; That covers 94 percent of the park, according to Yosemite&rsquo;s website.<\/p>\n<p>Park officials said the new restriction was needed to preserve Yosemite&rsquo;s wilderness and protect climbers.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We take the protection of the park&rsquo;s resources and the experience of our visitors very seriously and will not tolerate violations of laws and regulations that impact those resources and experiences,&rdquo; Pawlitz said.<\/p>\n<p>This year, Trump signed an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">executive order<\/a> changing the federal definition of sex, stating, &ldquo;Sex shall refer to an individual&rsquo;s immutable biological classification as either male or female.&rdquo; He also banned trans women from competing in women&rsquo;s sports, removed trans people from the military, and limited access to &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/instead-of-vetting-the-trans-industry-l-a-times-attacks-its-victims\/\" title=\"Instead Of Vetting The Trans Industry, L.A.Times Attacks Its Victims\">gender-affirming&#038;rdquo<\/a>; care.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Yosemite National Park ranger was dismissed after displaying a pride flag on El Capitan, and certain visitors may face legal action due to stricter protest rules implemented under President Donald Trump. Shannon &#8220;SJ&#8221; Joslin, a ranger and bat biologist, said she hung a 66-foot-wide transgender pride flag on the iconic climbing wall overlooking the park&#8217;s main road for about two hours on May 20 before removing it voluntarily. Her termination letter cited &#8220;unacceptable conduct&#8221; related to this incident. Joslin expressed that her action was meant to convey that everyone is safe in national parks but feels her firing sends the opposite message-that federal employees with identities not aligned with the current administration must remain silent or risk losing their jobs. Park officials stated they are collaborating with the U.S. Justice Department to address violations of demonstration rules by visitors and staff at Yosemite, which had over 4 million visitors last year<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2476751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/35104cd7484347d99cc4e8d8df1eb99c-817x429.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[33310,61619,61617,61618,20199],"class_list":["post-2476750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-criminal-charges","tag-famous-peak","tag-park-ranger","tag-trans-flag","tag-yosemite"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/35104cd7484347d99cc4e8d8df1eb99c-817x429.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2476750"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2476754,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476750\/revisions\/2476754"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2476751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2476750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2476750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2476750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}