A large “transgender” pride flag was unfurled from El Capitan in Yosemite National Park on May 20, igniting a fierce debate over politics, nature, and protest in one of America’s most iconic landscapes.
The dramatic display, orchestrated by a coalition of LGBTQIA+ climbers under the project name “Trans is Natural,” was led by drag artist and environmental activist Pattie Gonia. The flag was hung around 10 a.m. PT and removed shortly after 11:30 a.m. at the request of park officials, according to USA Today.
“Some carry hate, we carry the largest trans pride flag to ever be flown in a national park and [we] unfurled it on the side of El Cap to prove a point that trans is natural… Call it a protest, call it a celebration, we are bringing elevation to liberation,” Gonia, whose real name is Wyn Wiley, said in a video posted online.
The protest comes amid broader tensions over LGBTQ activism.
In February, a separate protest at the same location involved an upside-down American flag hung in response to federal job cuts enacted by the Trump administration, including within the National Park Service.
Political commentators on X condemned the act as a defacement of public land.
“Radical trans activists are flying a giant transgender flag at Yosemite… They’re defacing government property,” wrote Libs of TikTok on X. The account attached a video of Gonia, dressed in a drag reinterpretation of a park ranger uniform, explaining his protest.
Influencer Collin Rugg called the display an attack on Trump, sarcastically noting, “How will Trump ever recover?”
NEW: Transgender activists have unveiled a massive trans flag at Yosemite National Park to teach President Trump a lesson.
The queers and transgenders want the world to know that being transgender is “natural.”
The flag was hung a whopping 1500 feet up the rock and spanned… pic.twitter.com/wpv3lOvfsu
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 21, 2025
Gonia’s Instagram reveals that he is a biological male, and although he performs as a woman, he does not appear to be “transgender.” His Instagram bio also indicates that he uses “They/she/he” pronouns.
He is a co-founder of Outdoorist Oath, an LGBTQ climate action non-profit, and of Queer Outdoor and Environmental Job Board, an employment forum for homosexuals seeking jobs related to the outdoors.
El Capitan, a 3,000-foot granite monolith, is one of the most famous rock formations in the United States and a centerpiece of Yosemite National Park. It has long served as both a climbing mecca and a cultural touchstone—most notably featured in the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo, which chronicled climber Alex Honnold’s rope-free ascent.
National Park Service officials have not issued a formal statement on the protest.