Trump administration sued for removing the Stonewall Monument’s Pride flag
The pride flag was re-raised at the Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, on 12 February, 2026, after its removal by the National Park Service earlier this week. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images)
The Trump administration has been sued after it abruptly removed a Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument in New York City.
Administration officials quietly removed the Pride flag installed at the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement on 9 February, citing guidance that limits the type of flag that can be displayed at National Park Service (NPS) sites.
The move garnered intense backlash, prompting the Manhattan Borough and local activists to replace the Pride flag.
LGBTQ+ legal campaigners Lambda Legal announced it had filed a lawsuit against the administration on behalf of a coalition of activists and community members who argue the Trump administration’s removal of the flag was unlawful.
Filed to a US district court alongside the Washington Litigation Group, the suit urges the court to repeal the government’s order and reinstate the flag under the Administrative Procedure Act.
“The Pride flag at the Stonewall national Monument honours the history of the fight for LGBTQ+ liberation,” Douglas F Curtis, Lambda Legal’s chief legal advocacy officer, said. “It is an integral part of the story this site was created to tell.
“Its removal continues the Trump administration’s disregard for what the law actually requires in their endless campaign to target our community for erasure and we will not let it stand.”
The Stonewall National Monument is dedicated to the 1969 Stonewall uprising, spearheaded by Black trans women. It became the catalyst for what would become modern LGBTQ+ activism. The Pride flag was installed on the site in 2022 under then-president Joe Biden.
Plaintiffs in the suit include the Gilbert Foundation, Charles Beal, Village Preservation, and Equality New York.
Equality New York director, Amanda Babine, accused the Trump administration of trying to “erase our community”.
“The Pride flag stands for everyone who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and those who came before us, fighting for dignity and visibility,” they added. “It stands sentry over the birthplace of our modern movement, where LGBTQ+ New Yorkers fought back against injustice. We will not be silent.”
Share your story! Do you have an important, exciting or uplifting story to tell? Email us at [email protected]
