Millions of people flock to see the beauty of Yosemite National Park every year, but this month they met with some strange sights, including an upside-down US flag.
Draped across the side of El Capitan, the famous 7500 foot rockface in the park was the country’s flag with the union pointing towards the ground.
The flag was hung by a maintenance mechanic at the park who explained how it was an act of protest against the Trump administration downsizing the federal government.
Hanging the flag in this manner is a nationally recognized signal of distress but also deemed so disrespectful. The act seems to be a protection of free speech under the First Amendment.
We saw up to 2000 employees get fired from the American Forest Service, and some of those layoffs target probationary and non-firefighting employees.
Another 1000 jobs from this location were similarly cut, and the message we’ve seen shared on this front, including how it’s important to take care of it all as they are losing people here. They hoped to keep the parks open for years, but if it’s not sustainable, then there’s not a lot that could be done.