A disabled and nonbinary wildlife biology researcher is considering filing a wrongful termination lawsuit against the National Park Service (NPS) after the federal agency recently fired them for hanging a large transgender Pride flag from the El Capitan rock formation in Californias Yosemite National Park last May. The hanging wasnt illegal and didnt break any park rules at the time, though the parks superintendent has since forbidden such displays.SJ Joslin, the 35-year-old lead organizer of the May action, was fired through an August 12 letter from acting Yosemite Deputy Superintendent Danika Globokar for failing to demonstrate acceptable conduct during Joslins two-year probationary period as an NPS worker. Globokars letter said that Joslin had held a small group demonstration in an area outside of the designated protest and demonstration area without a permit, Joslin told Them. Related Drag activist & trans allies fly largest trans flag ever displayed in national park However, the aforementioned publication noted that NPS rules allow demonstrations of fewer than 25 people to take place anywhere in a park without a permit, unless otherwise noted in a parks Superintendents Compendium. Joslin requested evidence that May 20 action was a demonstration, but park leadership reportedly failed to provide any such proof, NBC News reported.Joslin and their cohorts displayed a 55 x 35 foot trans Pride flag about 500 feet high on El Capitans Heart Ledges area between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. PST on May 20. Joslin told Them they didnt view the flags display as a demonstration, but rather a celebration of my identity and just trans identity in general. Joslin also told NBC News that the flag was meant to show that everyone is welcome in the nations park. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today NBC News wrote that Joslin came up with the idea of hanging the flag after the nations president signed various executive orders seeking to deny the existence of trans people, restrict their access to gender-affirming care, and ban trans women from playing sports.A week after the May 20 action, the parks leadership informed Joslin that they and two other NPS employees were under criminal investigation for hanging the flag. Joslin said that the hanging of the flag didnt occur during their work hours and said that their colleagues have never made any negative comments about their conduct.The day after the action, Yosemite acting supervisor Ray McPadden updated the parks compendium to forbid the display of any banner, flag, or sign larger than fifteen square feet from any of the parks natural or cultural feature[s] without a permit. However, this rule wasnt in place on the day that Joslin and their group displayed the flag. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SJ / Shannon Joslin (@shannonekj)Hanging flags has been a tradition that climbers have done on El Cap for decades, and thats both individuals who are visiting the park, but also employees that are on their off time, Joslin said. Theres never been any kind of ramifications to any of those flag hanging activities. Im the only one whos been fired for it.Joslin told Them that theyre consulting with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), a nonprofit group advocating for environmental workers, and may file a wrongful termination lawsuit. Joslin had been managing a park research project examining how rock climbers may contribute to the spread of white-nose syndrome, a disease thats lethal to local bat populations.Regarding their firing, Joslin told Them, Im going to fight this as hard as I can, because to me, this isnt a matter of politics. This is a matter of fundamental rights and the rights that were given through the Constitution those rights have been taken away from me because they dont support the current administrations ideology.I think that everyone as Americans should be upset about this, they added. It doesnt matter who I am or what my identity is, this is a matter of free speech.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.