2026年2月25日 / 美国东部时间下午1:43 / CBS新闻
一名前优胜美地国家公园员工正起诉联邦政府，指控其被非法解雇，声称去年因在酋长岩悬挂跨性别骄傲旗而遭到解雇的行为侵犯了其宪法权利。
根据周一在华盛顿特区联邦法院提起的诉讼，使用”他们/她们”代词的野生动物生物学家香农·”SJ”·乔斯林（Shannon “SJ” Joslin）于去年8月收到了美国国家公园管理局的解雇通知。这次解雇发生在乔斯林与一群登山者在加州公园最具标志性的岩石构造上悬挂一面大型粉蓝白条纹旗帜（跨性别骄傲的象征）约三个月后。
乔斯林在优胜美地担任公园护林员近五年，据律师在法庭文件中称，她是在工作时间外悬挂旗帜的，目的是在特朗普政府日益增多的政治攻击中庆祝跨性别群体。
代表乔斯林的律师乔安娜·西特龙·戴（Joanna Citron Day）在一份声明中表示：”本届政府针对乔斯林博士，是因为它想吓唬人们保持沉默。乔斯林博士行使了其第一修正案权利，却因此受到惩罚，以明确传达一个信息——政府不喜欢的言论将不被容忍。”
一群登山者于2025年5月20日在加利福尼亚州优胜美地国家公园的酋长岩上展开了一面跨性别骄傲旗。 Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
律师们希望乔斯林能立即恢复美国国家公园管理局的职务，管理局是诉讼中的被告之一。其他被告包括公园管理局的上级机构内政部、司法部及其负责人。
美国国家公园管理局发言人在一份声明中告诉CBS新闻，该局不会”就人事行动的具体细节发表评论”，并表示”将不容忍影响这些资源和体验的法律法规违规行为”。
发言人补充道：”优胜美地国家公园由国会指定，旨在突出该地区美丽的自然和文化特色。无论出于何种原因，未经许可在指定的第一修正案区域外进行示威，都会损害游客体验和公园保护。为保护游客、游客体验和公园资源，许多示威活动需要获得许可。”
CBS新闻已联系司法部和内政部寻求置评。
乔斯林的解雇通知称，作为国家公园管理局的试用期员工，她在试用期结束前几周”未能表现出可接受的行为”，并援引了禁止在优胜美地范围内（指定的”第一修正案区域”外）进行示威的规定。
诉讼称，乔斯林还面临刑事调查，这升级了其律师所谓的”报复性运动”，该运动侵犯了这位生物学家根据第一修正案享有的言论自由权和隐私权。
诉讼质疑公园管理局将乔斯林的行为定义为”示威”，但指出活动主义是优胜美地历史中不可或缺的一部分。该公园被广泛认为是美国环保倡导的发源地，过去登山者曾在酋长岩悬挂旗帜支持众多政治和社会事业。诉讼要求法官认定，相关规定在本案中被”选择性执行”，因为这面旗帜被视为对特朗普政府跨性别权利立场的挑战。
乔斯林案的另一位律师克莱顿·贝利（Clayton Bailey）表示：”如果乔斯林博士悬挂的是政府喜欢的旗帜，她今天本应在优胜美地工作。这一现实与每个人都应享有的基本第一修正案自由完全相悖。”
优胜美地当前政策包括禁止在荒野地区未经许可展示大型横幅、旗帜或标牌的规定，以及公园内示威活动的管理条例。如果示威涉及25人以上，或在公园”指定言论自由地点”外举行，则需要获得许可。
这些规定出现在2025年5月20日版本的公园政策手册中，与乔斯林和登山者悬挂旗帜的日期相同，由公园代理主管于2025年5月21日电子签署。而2024年5月22日的早期版本（去年5月1日仍在优胜美地网站上）未包含关于横幅或旗帜的规定。
Yosemite worker fired for hanging trans pride flag on El Capitan sues National Park Service
February 25, 2026 / 1:43 PM EST / CBS News
A former Yosemite employee is suing the federal government for alleged unlawful termination, arguing that their dismissal last year for hanging a transgender pride flag from El Capitan violated their constitutional rights.
Shannon “SJ” Joslin, a wildlife biologist who uses they/them pronouns, received a termination notice from the National Park Service in August, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C. The firing came roughly three months after Joslin and a group of climbers draped a large, pink, blue and white striped flag — a symbol of trans pride — from the California park’s most iconic rock formation.
Joslin, who was a park ranger at Yosemite for nearly five years, has said the flag was hung outside of work hours. It aimed to celebrate the transgender community amid mounting political attacks from the Trump administration, attorneys said in court filings.
“This administration is targeting Dr. Joslin because it wants to scare people into silence,” Joanna Citron Day, an attorney representing Joslin, said in a statement. “Dr. Joslin exercised their First Amendment rights and is being punished to send a clear message—speech the administration doesn’t like will not be tolerated.”
A group of climbers unfurled a trans pride flag on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, California, on May 20, 2025. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Attorneys are looking to have Joslin immediately reinstated to the National Park Service, which is among the defendants listed in the lawsuit. Others include the park service’s parent agency, the Department of the Interior, as well as the Department of Justice, and the heads of each of them.
A spokesperson for the National Park Service told CBS News in a statement that the agency does not “comment on the specifics of personnel actions.” It also said it “will not tolerate violations of laws and regulations that impact those resources and experiences.”
“Yosemite National Park was designated by Congress to highlight the beautiful natural and cultural features of the area,” the spokesperson said. “No matter the cause, demonstrating without a permit outside of designated First-Amendment areas detracts from the visitor experience and the protection of the park. To safeguard the protection of visitors, visitor experiences, and park resources, many demonstrations require a permit.”
CBS News has reached out to the Justice and Interior departments for comment.
Joslin’s termination notice said they had “failed to demonstrate acceptable conduct” while still a probationary employee of the National Park Service, just weeks before their probation period ended. It cited regulations prohibiting demonstrations on Yosemite grounds, outside of certain locations that are designated “First Amendment areas.”
Joslin also faced a criminal investigation, according to the lawsuit, escalating what their attorneys called a “vindictive campaign” that violated the biologist’s rights to free expression under the First Amendment, as well as their rights to privacy.
The lawsuit questions the Park Service’s definition of Joslin’s conduct as a “demonstration,” although it notes that activism is an integral part of the history of Yosemite. The park is widely considered the birthplace of American environmental advocacy and climbers on El Capitan have raised flags for numerous political and social causes in the past. It asks the judge to find that regulations were “selectively enforced” in this case, because the flag is seen as a challenge to the Trump administration’s stance on trans rights.
“If Dr. Joslin had hung a flag the administration liked, they would be working at Yosemite today,” said Clayton Bailey, another attorney on Joslin’s case. “That reality is totally antithetical to the basic First Amendment freedoms promised to everyone.”
Yosemite’s current policies include regulations banning large banners, flags or signs displayed in the wilderness without a permit, as well as rules governing demonstrations within the park. Demonstrations require permits if they involve more than 25 people or are held outside one of the park’s “designated free speech locations.”
Those regulations appeared in a version of the park’s policy book dated May 20, 2025, the same day Joslin and the group of climbers hung the flag from El Capitan. It was electronically signed by the park’s acting superintendent on May 21, 2025. An earlier version, which was dated May 22, 2024, appeared on the Yosemite website as recently as May 1 of last year, and did not include regulations related to banners or flags.
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