Trump Administration Orders Removal of Pride Flag at Iconic Stonewall Site
The Trump administration removes the Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument, sparking backlash.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has removed a large rainbow Pride flag that had been flying over the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan, prompting sharp criticism from local Democratic leaders. The monument, located in Greenwich Village, marks the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ rights movement in the United States.
The National Park Service (NPS), which oversees national monuments, said the flagpole at the site is managed under federal policy and that the Pride flag was removed to ensure consistent application of longstanding guidelines. The agency cited 2023 guidance stating that government-managed flagpoles are not forums for public expression and may display flags only as an expression of official federal sentiment or for historical context, including “living history” programmes.
However, several elected officials in New York condemned the move, describing it as politically motivated. Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the removal an “act of erasure” and said he was outraged by the decision. Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal termed it “a deliberate attack on the LGBTQ community”, adding that some officials plan to raise another Pride flag at the site before the end of the week.
Also Read: Trump Applies Venezuela Strategy to Iran, But Key Differences Loom Large
The Stonewall National Monument commemorates the 1969 uprising that followed a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Christopher Park. The protests became a defining moment in the struggle for LGBTQ rights in the United States. The site was designated a national monument in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama and remains a symbolic centre of LGBTQ history and activism.
The controversy comes amid broader policy shifts under the Trump administration affecting LGBTQ issues. Trump has directed federal agencies to adopt a policy recognising only two immutable sexes, and references to “LGBT” on the monument’s official website have reportedly been changed to “LGB”. The Pride flag was removed either late Sunday or early Monday, according to local media reports.
The National Park Service has not clarified how it would respond if another Pride flag is raised at the monument. Hoylman-Sigal suggested that even the possibility of arrest would echo the spirit of resistance that defined the original Stonewall protests, underscoring the site’s continued political and cultural significance.
