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Organizers said the inverted flag, historically used as a sign of distress, was meant to draw attention to the Trump administration’s cuts to the National Park Service.
Feb. 24, 2025Updated 4:49 p.m. ET
A small group of protesters hung an inverted American flag — historically used as a sign of distress — off the side of El Capitan, a towering rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on Saturday, hoping to draw attention to the Trump administration’s cuts to the National Park Service.
The upside-down flag drew widespread attention on social media because hundreds of visitors were photographing an annual phenomenon in the park known as firefall, when the setting sun causes a seasonal waterfall on El Capitan to glow orange.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the flag, measuring 30 feet by 50 feet, was displayed by a group of frustrated Park Service workers, some of whom rappelled down the side of El Capitan, which rises more than 3,000 feet above the base of Yosemite Valley.
The protest organizers could not immediately be reached on Monday. One of them, Gavin Carpenter, told The Chronicle that he was a maintenance mechanic at Yosemite and a disabled military veteran who had supplied the flag.
“We’re bringing attention to what’s happening to the parks, which are every American’s properties,” Mr. Carpenter said. “It’s super important we take care of them, and we’re losing people here, and it’s not sustainable if we want to keep the parks open.”
The National Park Service did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.
The protest came as demonstrations have been held at other national parks across the country, including at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and Joshua Tree National Park in California.
