'Non-binary' fired after hanging 'trans' flag at Yosemite sues Trump administration



A probationary wildlife biologist for Yosemite National Park who identifies as "non-binary" covered the side of El Capitan with a gargantuan trans-activist flag last year to protest the Trump administration's reality-affirming policies regarding gender.

Shannon Joslin, a female resident of El Portal, California, found out the hard way that actions have consequences — and was fired.

'Demonstrating without a permit outside of designated First Amendment areas detracts from the visitor experience.'

The LGBT activist filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday, demanding her job back and claiming that the Department of the Interior violated her First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

The protest

Joslin and several other climbers rigged a 55'x35' trans activist flag roughly one-third of the way up El Capitan on May 20, 2025, where it flapped for hours.

According to her complaint, Joslin came up with the idea to rig a flag on El Capitan as a "statement in support of trans people," then worked over the course of multiple weeks with other activists to "stake out the technical logistics of fixing a sizable flag to the rock face."

In the corresponding press release where she boasted about the protest, Joslin indicated that those responsible were "social workers, public servants, parents, and neighbors."

She told Climbing.com, "Calling congressmen and writing representatives feels like yelling into the void. We have this f**king microphone that is El Cap."

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El Capitan. Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

Wyn Riley, a drag queen who goes by "Pattie Gonia," was among the supporters of the protest. In a May 22, 2025, propaganda video featuring several clips of Joslin securing the flag, Riley said, "The Trump administration and transphobes would love to have you believe that being trans is unnatural."

"Call it a protest; call it a celebration," continued Riley. "We are bringing elevation to liberation."

The complaint alleges that Joslin was off-duty "at all times during the preparation for and placement and display of the trans pride flag."

The fallout

Documents show that Joslin received a notice of termination in late July indicating that she was out of a job effective Aug. 12, 2025.

The letter provided a reminder that the purpose of the two-year trial period that started for Joslin on Sept. 10, 2023, is to "determine whether newly appointed Federal employees are suitable for successful service in the areas of conduct and performance."

"During your trial period, you have failed to demonstrate acceptable conduct," continued the letter. "Specifically, on or about May 20, 2025, you participated in a small group demonstration in an area outside the designated protest and demonstration area without permit as required by 36 CFR 2.51 and thus circumvented rules applicable to all park visitors."

Neither the Department of the Interior nor the National Park Service would comment on the specifics of the relevant personnel actions.

However, they both shared a statement with Blaze News noting, "We take the protection of the park'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."

"Yosemite National Park was designated by Congress to highlight the beautiful natural and cultural features of the area," continued the statement. "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."

The lawsuit

Joslin's lawsuit, in which she is referred to with plural pronouns, complains about Trump's rebuff of gender ideology and reality-affirming policies; claims that Joslin has faced "medical, financial, personal, and professional harm" as the result of her termination; and alleges that the decision to fire her violated the "First Amendment by selectively targeting for retaliation specific forms of expression based on content and viewpoint."

The lawsuit — which lists the NPS, the Interior Department, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Attorney General Pam Bondi as defendants — also alleges that the National Park Service used a press release regarding the stunt from Joslin's protest group against her, suggesting that doing so was a violation of the Privacy Act of 1974.

The "non-binary" activist not only wants her old job back but damages and a declaratory judgment that "Defendants' collection and use of information about Dr. Joslin's protected First Amendment activity was unlawful."

Joanna Citron Day, one of Joslin’s attorneys, said in a release, "If Dr. Joslin had hung a flag the administration liked, they would be working at Yosemite today."

Regardless of the colors, Yosemite National Park maintains its prohibition for "any person or group to hang or otherwise affix to any natural or cultural feature, or display so as to cover any natural or cultural feature, any banner, flag, or sign larger than fifteen square feet (e.g., 5 feet x 3 feet)."

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While Democrats’ Anti-ICE Fury Escalates, Americans Show They Want Immigration Laws Enforced

As protests and riots against ICE grow more common, formal state and local cooperation with ICE grows far more common.

Affluent White Female Liberals Are Living In A Made-Up World

The Land of Make Believe will eventually come to an end, and sobriety and rationality will be restored. Let’s pray the correction doesn’t come in the form of a hot war or a natural disaster.

My Students Protesting ICE Cannot Answer One Question On The U.S. Citizenship Exam

It is time to restore education's core mission: knowledge first, civics always, activism never.

'Sit there and smirk': Sen. Johnson blasts Ellison over deadly protests in Minnesota



Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) sharply criticized a Minnesota Democrat during a Senate Homeland Security hearing Thursday, blaming him for encouraging protests that the Republican lawmaker said helped set the stage for the deaths of two activists amid a high-profile federal immigration enforcement operation.

Johnson accused Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison of creating conditions that, he said, contributed to the fatal shootings of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.

'Yeah, sit there and smirk. Smirk. It's sick. It's despicable.'

"Two people are dead because you encouraged them to put themselves into harm's way," Johnson told Ellison during the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing.

"A tragedy was going to happen, and you encouraged it. And you ought to feel damn guilty about it."

Johnson's criticism continued when Ellison appeared to smirk, stating: "Yeah, sit there and smirk. Smirk. It's sick. It is despicable." Ellison fired back, labeling Johnson's remarks "all lies" and a "nice theatrical performance."

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Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Johnson went on to detail incidents of protester violence and interference that he said escalated the danger for federal agents. "These law enforcement officials have been shot at. Their vehicles have been rammed by some of these 'peaceful protesters,' probably the trained activists. They've had rocks thrown at their vehicles," Johnson said.

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

"You've got all these trained activists behind you," Johnson said, "Is it any wonder they're at hair-trigger alert? A tragedy was going to happen, and you encouraged it!"

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Inside the Iranian Regime's Online 'Bot Army' Campaign Against Trump State Department Official

The Iranian regime is waging an online disinformation campaign against the Trump administration’s most senior-ranking Persian-American official, Mora Namdar, painting her as a pro-regime stooge and opponent of the dissident movement, according to four administration sources briefed on the matter and a Washington Free Beacon review of social media posts and accounts. The operation, the sources said, is meant to sow discord within the State Department and the Iranian dissident community at a time when the hardline regime is fighting to stay in power.

The post Inside the Iranian Regime's Online 'Bot Army' Campaign Against Trump State Department Official appeared first on .

Trump Is Reading Leftist Desperation As Strength

The desperation of petulant anti-ICE activists is a sign that the Trump administration is fighting a gang of adult children who can't and won't prevail in any serious fight.

Minnesota police crack down on anti-ICE protesters, multiple arrests outside hotel



As talks between the Trump administration and Minnesota leadership continue, with some possible success, police have begun dealing with protesters more efficiently this week.

In a surprising turn of events, protesters in Minneapolis were swiftly dealt with near the Graduate by Hilton hotel.

'All individuals: You are under arrest. Please sit down.'

In video originally captured on independent reporter Brendan Gutenschwager's livestream of the protests in Minneapolis on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, protesters could be seen being kettled by police on a street block.

Police officers, who were reported to be Minnesota state police and University of Minnesota police officers, quickly formed a line on the street.

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Photo by Kerem YUCEL / AFP via Getty Images

"All individuals: You are under arrest. Please sit down," one officer says once the police line is set.

The video showed a few dozen protesters on the street, many of whom sat down immediately in compliance with the order.

Gutenschwager reported that this kettling tactic was used near the Graduate by Hilton Minneapolis.

A second video of the aftermath of some arrests shows police walking arrestees toward a line of blue buses.

Frontlines TPUSA posted a video on the ground of the same event. Describing the scene, the cameraman says, "They're being taken into these buses now with bars on the windows."

Though the crowds seemed subdued during and after the kettling tactic, Gutenschwager's livestream showed that the protesters were much more energetic and disruptive in the earlier hours of the night.

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'Organized obstruction': Leaked alleged Signal chats show anti-ICE radicals tracking ICE agents, chasing vehicles



An independent journalist claims to have infiltrated encrypted Signal chat groups used by anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement activists, uncovering what appears to be a coordinated effort to obstruct federal immigration enforcement and harass law enforcement officers.

Cam Higby, an on-the-ground reporter known for undercover infiltrations, shared on X screen recordings and member lists from the alleged chats. His posts revealed hundreds of participants apparently actively plotting interference with U.S. ICE operations.

'Your body on the line.'

The exposed alleged conversations show members checking license plates, broadcasting intersections where agents are active, and even pursuing ICE vehicles. Higby described the tactics as “organized obstruction” in an X post.

Higby claimed his expose made a solid dent in the anti-ICE operation, with one administrator admitting it would take time to “get things up and running” again after the exposure. Higby later reported that the Signal group was "running at about half strength."

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Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Despite allegations of high-level involvement in the anti-ICE network, which critics have labeled insurrectionist, far-left Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D) posted a video urging protesters to escalate by putting “your body on the line.”

The information comes during heightened tensions in Minneapolis and other cities, where left-wing activists have clashed with federal agents over immigration enforcement. Higby continues dropping fresh screenshots and member lists, vowing more exposures in the “Signal Gate” saga.

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Voters won’t buy ‘freedom in Iran’ while Minneapolis goes lawless



My buddy Ryan Rhodes, who’s running for Congress in Iowa’s 4th District, drove north to Minnesota to see the chaos in Minneapolis up close. What he found looked worse than the headlines.

“You have a really Islamo-communist set of people who we have imported” to this country, Rhodes told me. “I think you’ve got a lot of Muslim Brotherhood agents in there, people whose message is, ‘We have taken over this city.’ Forget just elections. We lose our country if we keep allowing these people to come in.”

Americans can handle hard truths. They can handle sacrifice. They can handle a fight. What they won’t handle is watching the bad guys win again.

Rhodes wasn’t talking like a guy chasing clicks. He sounded like a guy staring at the map and realizing tyranny doesn’t need a passport. It can sit three hours from your front door.

So forgive me if I don’t have much patience for the foreign-policy sermonizing right now. How am I supposed to sell voters on “freedom in Iran” while Minneapolis slides toward lawlessness and Washington keeps acting powerless to stop it?

That pitch collapses fast with working-class Americans, especially while the economy limps along and trust remains thin on the ground. Republican voters want competence, results, and consequences for people who harm the country. They want accountability at home first.

We’ve lived what happens without it.

COVID cracked Trump’s first term because bureaucrats and “experts” ran wild, issued edicts, trashed livelihoods, and faced zero consequences. Then the George Floyd riots poured gasoline on the fire. Cities burned while federal authorities watched the destruction unfold.

Trump’s comeback last year required more than winning an election. It required overcoming a full-scale assault on the country’s spirit — and on the right to live as free citizens. The machine didn’t just beat Republicans at the ballot box. It hunted them. Roughly 1,400 Americans were rounded up by the Biden regime over the January 6 “insurrection.” They went after Trump too. They went after anyone in their way.

Those four years didn’t just wreck careers in Washington. They reached down to the local level — school boards acting like petty dictators, public health officials issuing mask and jab mandates, and doctors’ offices turning into political compliance centers. Families paid the price.

Now the country watches the same disease spread again.

People see domestic radicals attack federal officers in the streets. They watch Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) posture like a man protecting the mob, not the public. They hear Minneapolis leaders talk like ICE has no right to exist inside city limits. The footage looks like a warning, not an isolated event.

Remember CHAZ/CHOP in Seattle in 2020? That’s the template: Declare a zone off-limits to law, romanticize the lawlessness, and dare the state to reassert control. Every time the government blinks, the radicals learn the lesson: Push harder.

Demoralization has started to set in. I see it on Facebook and on the ground. In Iowa, I’m seeing campaign photos that would’ve been unthinkable in past cycles: small crowds, low energy, people staying home. Iowa has its first open Republican gubernatorial primary in 15 years, and the mood should feel electric. Instead, it feels like exhaustion.

As things stand, fewer Republicans will vote in the June primary than voted in the 2016 Iowa caucuses. That’s unheard of. Iowa has more than 700,000 registered Republicans. I wouldn’t bet on even 200,000 showing up.

That should terrify the White House.

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Photo by Madison Thorn/Anadolu via Getty Images

Trump isn’t on the ballot in Iowa anymore. He doesn’t need to win another primary. But the movement still needs to win elections. It needs to win them in places like Iowa — and it needs to win them while the country watches cities like Minneapolis drift toward foreign-flag politics and open contempt for American sovereignty.

Rhodes put it bluntly: If we don’t stop this, we’re watching an Islamic conquest play out in real time, one “sanctuary” city at a time. Great Britain didn’t fall in a day. It surrendered by degrees.

So what do voters need to see now?

Not another speech. Not another promise. Not another commission. Not another “investigation” that ends in a shrug.

They need to see what they were promised when Trump ran for a second term: accountability.

If the country watches Minnesota slide into open defiance of federal law and nobody pays a price for it, voters will conclude the system can’t defend them. And if the system can’t defend them at home, it has no credibility abroad.

Start with Minnesota. Make it plain that “no-go zones” don’t exist in the United States. Enforce the law. Protect federal agents. Prosecute the people who assault them. Strip federal money from jurisdictions that obstruct enforcement. Treat organized lawlessness like organized lawlessness, not a political disagreement.

Americans can handle hard truths. They can handle sacrifice. They can handle a fight.

What they won’t handle is watching the bad guys win again — without consequences.