Florida paints over Pulse shooting rainbow memorial crossing
The Pulse nightclub memorial crosswalk was erased by the Florida state government. (X/Twitter/Getty)
The Pulse nightclub memorial crosswalk was erased by the Florida state government. (X/Twitter/Getty)
A crosswalk memorial to the 49 people murdered in the Pulse nightclub attack in 2016 has once again been painted over by the state of Florida.
The rainbow crosswalk outside the abandoned LGBTQ+ nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was removed by city officials under a new directive from US president Donald Trump on Wednesday, 20 August.
On 22 August, locals restored the rainbow colours themselves using chalk. The memorial road crossing was created in dedication to the 49 victims of the 2016 mass shooting, the deadliest in US history.
However, the recoloured crosswalk didn’t last long, as the Florida Department of Transportation repainted it black and white on Sunday, 24 August. In a bid to prevent protesters from recolouring it, transportation officials and Orlando police are stationed at the crosswalk around the clock.
Brandon Wolf, a survivor of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting, wrote on X about the guarding of the crosswalk: “More officers babysitting the crosswalk than there were security guards watching the front door of Pulse the night 49 people were murdered. By a lot.”
More officers babysitting the crosswalk than there were security guards watching the front door of Pulse the night 49 people were murdered.
— Brandon Wolf (@bjoewolf) August 25, 2025
By a lot. pic.twitter.com/wku5D4VxUd
The Transportation Department said it removed the painted crossing because it had a duty “to ensure the safety and consistency of public roadways and transportation systems [and] that means ensuring our roadways are not utilised for social, political or ideological interests”.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis took to X following the crossing’s removal, writing that the Department of Transportation was given the order by the Trump administration. Defending the actions, he said: “We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes.”
We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes. https://t.co/AXY1qxsZNW
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) August 21, 2025
Gay state senator Carlos Guillermo Smith called out the painting over of the Pulse memorial under the cover of darkness a cowardly act.
“They did this in the middle of the night because they were scared of the resistance, they know what they did was wrong,” he said. “There will be a rainbow mural nearby that is even bigger, queerer and more colourful than they ever imagined.”
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