Protesters rally at Stonewall after Trump administration removes Pride flag from landmark
“New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change or silence that history,” said New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani
By Aaron Sugg
Protests have taken place outside the Stonewall National Monument after the Trump administration removed a large Pride flag from the historic landmark in New York City.
Described as part of broader enforcement of flag policy on federal property, the move is widely seen as an effort to roll back diversity initiatives across the United States since Donald Trump began his second term in 2025.
Earlier this year, on 21 January, an Interior Department memo – which oversees the National Park Service – clarified that only US flags, agency flags and the POW/MIA flag are permitted on park flagpoles.
The order states: “Interior Department flagpoles are not intended to serve as a forum for free expression by the public.” It adds that approved flags represent “the federal government’s official sentiments.”
“I am outraged by the removal of the Rainbow Pride Flag from Stonewall National Monument” – Zohran Mamdani on the Stonewall de-flagging
Local and national leaders have condemned the move, with demonstrators holding rainbow flags, signs and placards calling for the Pride flag’s reinstatement.
I am outraged by the removal of the Rainbow Pride Flag from Stonewall National Monument. New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history.
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) February 10, 2026
Our city has a duty not just to honor this legacy, but to…
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani criticised the removal, writing on X: “I am outraged by the removal of the Rainbow Pride Flag from Stonewall National Monument.”
“New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change or silence that history,” the LGBTQ+ ally stated.
“I will always fight for a New York City that invests in our LGBTQ+ community, defends their dignity” – Mamdani on LGBTQ+ rights in the US
“Our city has a duty not just to honour this legacy, but to live up to it. I will always fight for a New York City that invests in our LGBTQ+ community, defends their dignity, and protects every one of our neighbours — without exception,” Mamdani concluded.
The Stonewall Inn also spoke out about the removal in a statement on its official Instagram page: “Taking down a flag does not erase our history. But it does remind us why we cannot rely solely on governments to tell it,” they wrote.
“The Stonewall Inn is privately owned and independently operated. We are not affiliated with the federal government, and we will never lower our flag or stop protecting our history.”
Established in 2016 by president Barack Obama, the Stonewall National Monument was created to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall uprising.
“It raises serious concerns about how our story is being stewarded” – Stonewall Inn officials on the Pride flag removal
Stonewall Inn officials continued that the monument was “established to honour the origins of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. When symbols directly tied to that history are removed, it raises serious concerns about how our story is being stewarded.”
“LGBTQ+ history has too often been minimised, sanitised or erased from official narratives. That is why the Stonewall Inn continues to stand as living history, protected and carried forward by the community itself.”
Condemning the Trump administration, they added: “The Pride flag at the Stonewall monument is not partisan. It is historical. We believe it should be restored. That is why our history will never be erased – and at the Stonewall Inn, all flags representing our community will always continue to fly.”
“We can’t trust the government with our history or with our stories” – Stacy Lentz, co-owner of the Stonewall Inn on the Trump administration
Stacy Lentz, co-owner of the Stonewall Inn, was among those protesting and helped campaign for the site to become a national monument.
“Coming into the birthplace is really what makes this so terrifying,” Lentz said. “We can’t trust the government with our history or with our stories.”
The Pride flag’s removal follows the Trump administration’s quiet deletion of pages from the Stonewall National Monument website referencing bisexual and transgender identities in 2025.
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