Pride Flag Removed From Stonewall National Monument
Stonewall National Monument Pride flag removal 2026
The iconic rainbow Pride flag was quietly removed from the Stonewall National Monument in New York City over the weekend of February 7-8, 2026, following a direct order from the Trump administration. The removal at the Greenwich Village landmark—widely considered the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement—has sparked immediate condemnation from local officials and civil rights advocates. According to the National Park Service (NPS), the action was taken to comply with a January 21, 2026, memorandum from the Department of the Interior. The new guidance restricts the display of “non-agency” flags on federal property, stating that only the U.S. flag, agency-specific flags, and the POW/MIA flag are authorized to fly on NPS-managed poles.
The directive, which officials claim “clarifies longstanding policy,” specifically notes that federal flagpoles are not intended as “forums for free expression by the public.” However, critics argue the move is a deliberate attempt to erase the visibility of the LGBTQ+ community at the very site designated by President Barack Obama in 2016 to honor their history. Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal called the removal “petty and vindictive,” while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described it as a “deeply outrageous action” that must be reversed. Protests have already been organized at the site, where smaller Pride flags still wave along the perimeter fence, which sits on city-owned land.+3
This latest development follows a pattern of administrative changes affecting the Stonewall National Monument. In February 2025, soon after President Trump returned to office, the NPS website for the monument was reportedly scrubbed of references to “transgender” and “queer” people to align with an executive order defining gender as a biological binary. Furthermore, the administration’s “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” executive order has directed federal agencies to review all national monuments to ensure they reflect what the administration calls a more “patriotic” account of the past. Advocates, including the National Parks Conservation Association, maintain that the Pride flag is an integral part of the site’s historical context and should remain as an authorized exception.+2
As the controversy grows, NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin and other local leaders have sent a formal letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum demanding the flag’s restoration. While the federal flagpole remains bare, the Stonewall Inn, which is privately owned and operates independently of the monument, continues to fly several Pride flags in defiance of the federal directive. Activists have vowed to keep the issue in the national spotlight, arguing that while a physical flag can be removed, the history of resistance and liberation rooted at Stonewall cannot be so easily erased.
