Trump administration sued over removal of Stonewall Pride flag in New York
The Trump administration is facing a growing legal challenge after the abrupt removal of the Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument in New York earlier this month. LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, local community organisations and legal rights bodies have filed a series of lawsuits accusing the federal government of acting unlawfully and targeting the queer community.
The Pride flag was taken down on 9 February, with officials citing Department of the Interior (DOI) and National Park Service (NPS) rules that allegedly prohibit flying anything other than the US flag, DOI flags and the POW/MIA flag on national park sites. However, plaintiffs argue that these policies have been misrepresented - and that the rules explicitly allow flags providing historical context, which the Pride flag has long done at the monument.
The Stonewall National Monument sits opposite the historic Stonewall Inn, the site of the 1969 uprising widely seen as the birth of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. The permanent flagpole was installed in 2022 following extensive community advocacy. For many, the removal of the flag represents not only a breach of federal regulations but a symbolic attack on LGBTQ+ heritage.
Multiple lawsuits have now been filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs include the Gilbert Baker Foundation, Village Preservation, Equality New York, Lambda Legal and the Washington Litigation Group. They argue that the action was “arbitrary and capricious” and in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, noting that no such restrictions have been applied to other historically contextual flags at national monuments.
Community organisations accuse the administration of singling out LGBTQ+ people, pointing to what they describe as a broader pattern of rolling back protections and visibility. Lambda Legal’s Chief Legal Advocacy Officer said the removal “continues the Trump Administration’s disregard for what the law actually requires in their endless campaign to target our community for erasure.”
In response to the move, New York officials and activists raised an unofficial Pride flag at the monument on 12 February, drawing crowds of supporters and local politicians. The action was described as both an act of defiance and a symbolic reinstatement of the community’s presence at the site.
The plaintiffs are seeking a court order compelling the government to restore the official Pride flag to its place within the monument. They argue that the flag is a crucial part of telling the story of Stonewall and of honouring the lives and struggles of LGBTQ+ people whose activism shaped modern civil rights movements.
The Department of the Interior and the National Park Service have not yet publicly responded to requests for comment.
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