A federal judge on Friday said she had no authority to reinstate a trans-identifying park ranger who was fired last year for unfurling a trans flag at Yosemite National Park.

Trans biologist Shannon “SJ” Joslin was fired by the National Park Service after she unfurled a transgender flag at El Capitan last year.

Joslin, who uses they/them pronouns, filed a lawsuit to get reinstated.

Fresno-based US District Judge Jennifer Thurston, a Biden appointee, said she doesn’t have the authority to reinstate Joslin.

A federal judge on Friday dismissed a former Yosemite National Park ranger’s lawsuit after they were fired for unfurling a transgender pride flag at the El Capitan rock formation last year.https://t.co/NMtkE8xd7w pic.twitter.com/EiHMzbcw2d

— FOX26 News (@KMPHFOX26) June 12, 2026

The judge said Joslin has to challenge the firing by taking her claims to the Office of Special Counsel.

The Hill reported:

A federal judge ruled Friday that she has no authority to reinstate a Yosemite National Park ranger who was fired for unfurling a transgender pride flag at the El Capitan rock formation last year.

The decision doesn’t address Shannon “SJ” Joslin’s allegation that the firing selectively targeted them for speech protected by the First Amendment.

“But the government has another more fundamental and more persuasive point: under the laws that Congress has passed, and under the legal precedent that a federal trial court must follow, this Court does not have authority to decide whether Joslin was fired for unconstitutional or illegal reasons, nor to block a hypothetical criminal case against them,” wrote U.S. District Judge Jennifer Thurston.

Joslin, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, must instead bring their claims before the Office of Special Counsel, the judge said.

“The Court lacks jurisdiction to review Joslin’s termination or to offer any related relief, including a reinstatement,” she wrote.

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