- Oct 17, 2011
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- A National Park Service employee was fired and threatened with criminal prosecution for taking park in unfurling a trans-pride flag on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
- LGBTQ+ activists and supporters say the staffer was fired to silence them.
Among the group were Shannon Joslin, a biologist at Yosemite...
Two hours after the flag went up, the group was ordered by park officials to take it down. Climbers who participated said that park officials outlined no consequences after they ordered the flag removed and that the group left peacefully. Video of the demonstration shows Joslin was not in park uniform during the climb, and the news release added that they also were not on duty at the time and used no park materials to rig the flag.
The National Park Service pointed to a recent rule that the agency said went into effect the date of the incident. The rule prohibits guests or employees from hanging signs or banners over any “natural or cultural feature” in the park.
Joslin says that rule did not exist at the time, and an archive of the park’s rules five days before the incident does not include a prohibition on flags. Another archived version of the page from the following month, on June 15, includes the new flag prohibition and is dated back to May 20.
The climbing group and other activists ... have also cited President Trump’s executive order on “Restoring Free Speech and Ending Federal Censorship” as reason for reinstatement. The order, signed on Trump’s inauguration date, said it would “ensure that no Federal Government officer, employee, or agent engages in or facilitates any conduct that would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen.”
