Protestors arrested after standing on rainbow Pride crossing to stop its removal
Workers are seen while cars pass along Westheimer. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Workers are seen while cars pass along Westheimer. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Protestors have been arrested in Texas after standing on a rainbow Pride crossing to prevent it from being removed.
According to the Houston Chronicle, four people were taken into custody for blocking the roadway at the junction of Westheimer Road and Taft. Charges were said to be pending on Monday afternoon.
After the crosswalk was removed and covered on Sunday (19 October), protesters drew on the sidewalk in chalk.
The removal came after Texas governor Greg Abbott directed the Department of Transportation to eliminate “decorative crosswalks, murals or markings conveying artwork or other messages” from roadways within 30 days or risk losing state funding.
Two and a half hours after construction was supposed to start, and four arrests later, crews have begun removing the rainbow crosswalk at Westheimer and Taft in Houston. pic.twitter.com/R9m5KCxn04
— gwen howerton (@kissphoria) October 20, 2025
According to LGBTQ Nation, one of the protestors, Andy Escobar, said: “We know we have some of the worst air quality, we have people disappearing in the bayous, we have urgent matters that need to be attended to, and we are wasting time on a distraction and [the] vilification of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans people.”
Protesters said the crossing had been installed as a memorial to a victim of a hit-and-run incident at the intersection several years ago.
I spoke to a construction worker here with the crew resurfacing the rainbow crosswalk at Westheimer and Taft. He was adamant, that he had no problem with the LGBTQ community and understood how important the symbol is, but that he was here to work. He asked to be unnamed. pic.twitter.com/tFYCyDi3b9
— gwen howerton (@kissphoria) October 20, 2025
Earlier this month, officials in Florida destroyed an LGBTQ+ rainbow crosswalk in Miami Beach that had stood since 2018, and had become a symbol of LGBTQ+ visibility and history. Rainbow and Pride flags have been hung near the intersection as a sign of defiance.
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