FLAG WARS

Trump Orders Tear-Down of Pride Flag From NYC Monument

Stonewall National Monument was the first federally recognized LGBTQ historic site.

The Trump administration has quietly removed a Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan. The flag’s removal follows new federal guidance issued by the Department of the Interior on Jan. 21 that restricts the display of unauthorized flags at National Park Service sites. Under the order, only U.S. flags or congressionally authorized flags may be raised on NPS flagpoles. Manhattan borough president Brad Hoylman-Sigal told The New York Times the Trump administration’s order directly led to the Pride flag’s disappearance from the Greenwich Village site, which marks the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ rights movement. Stonewall became the nation’s first federally recognized LGBTQ historic site in 2016, commemorating the 1969 police raid that sparked days of protests and helped launch the gay rights movement. Hoylman-Sigal said he and other local officials plan to raise the Pride flag again on Thursday, despite potential backlash. “We may be prevented from doing so,” he told the outlet, “but if we don’t seize this moment, and this outrage, I think we’ll let down generations of queer activists.” The Daily Beast has reached out to Brad Hoylman-Sigal for comment.