Queer Resistance Prevails: Trump Admin To Return Pride Flag To Stonewall
After a lawsuit led by LGBTQ and preservation non-profits, the Trump administration agreed to return the Pride flag it removed under cover of darkness in February.
Featured Image: NYC officials re-raise the Pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village on Feb. 12, 2026 (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/ AFP via Getty Images)
On Monday, April 13, two months after the LGBTQ+ community and allies united in outrage over the Trump administration’s hostile removal of the Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument, an agreement was reached: “the Pride flag will remain hanging at Stonewall and will not be removed save for maintenance or other practical purposes.”
As GO previously reported, several non-profits had filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for removing the Pride rainbow flag from the Stonewall National Monument in New York City in early February. While removal – which apparently took place under cover of darkness sometime between Feb. 9 – 10 – has been widely viewed as a gesture of erasure, the lawsuit focused on legal issues, asserting that the move violated federal laws allowing flags to be flown if they provide historical context. It also sought the return of the original Pride flag to its rightful spot at Stonewall.
The site marks the location of the historic 1969 Stonewall uprising, considered a catalyst for the modern LGBTQ movement. It was designated a national monument under the Obama Administration in 2016. The presidential proclamation read:
“Christopher Park, a historic community park located immediately across the street from the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City (City), is a place for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community to assemble for marches and parades, expressions of grief and anger, and celebrations of victory and joy. It played a key role in the events often referred to as the Stonewall Uprising or Rebellion, and has served as an important site for the LGBT community both before and after those events.”
Related: Trump Administration Sued For Removing Pride Flag From Stonewall
Following extensive activism by the LGBTQ+ community, the rainbow Pride flag became a presence at the site. It was installed during the Biden administration in 2022 to be flown daily at the Stonewall National Monument. It has been, and remains, a widely recognized symbol of LGBTQ+ equality and resistance.
Image: A rainbow flag with the Stonewall National Monument Established 2016 with the NPS arrowhead flying in Christopher Park (NPS Photo)
The flag at Stonewall was also the first Pride flag authorized to fly permanently on federal lands. At the time, NPS acknowledged “the significance of the rainbow flag to Stonewall National Monument and the community” and affirmed its commitment “to telling the complex and diverse histories of all Americans.”
Per the joint court filing released Monday, the Pride flag will be flying again within a week – to be positioned between two flags: below the U.S. flag, in keeping with the U.S. flag code, and above the Park Service flag.
The lawsuit was led by the Gilbert Baker Foundation, named after the artist who created the rainbow Pride flag in 1978. It was joined by activist Charles Beal, Village Preservation, EQNY Fund, Inc.d/b/a Equality New York.
Responding to the news of the flag’s imminent return, Gilbert Baker Foundation President Charley Beal said: “Stonewall is sacred ground in the fight for LGBTQ+ liberation, and this resolution helps ensure that the Rainbow Flag will continue to fly there, where it belongs.”
