NY Officials Raise Rainbow Flag at Stonewall in Rebuke of Trump Administration

Activists vow to keep restoring the pride flag at the LGBTQ+ landmark despite federal restrictions.

Published on Feb. 13, 2026

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New York politicians and LGBTQ+ activists defiantly raised a rainbow flag at the Stonewall National Monument on Thursday, rebuking the Trump administration for removing the well-known symbol of pride from the landmark site. The initial flag-raising was short-lived, but activists vowed to keep restoring the flag if the National Park Service takes it down again.

Why it matters

The Stonewall Inn and the surrounding park are considered the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, after a 1969 police raid sparked an uprising. The removal of the pride flag from the national monument is seen as a deliberate insult by the Trump administration, which has taken aim at diversity and inclusion initiatives across the federal government.

The details

New York politicians, including Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, helped raise the rainbow flag on a pole in the tiny Greenwich Village park that is part of the Stonewall National Monument. Activists promptly took down the flag and raised it again on the same pole as the American flag when they were unhappy with it flying lower on a separate pole. The National Park Service has said it's complying with federal guidance that largely restricts the agency to displaying the flags of the United States, the Department of the Interior, and POW/MIA recognition.

  • The rainbow flag had flown for several years on a flagpole in the park at the heart of the National Park Service-run site.
  • The initial rainbow flag-raising, on a pole brought to the park, was short-lived.
  • The activists promptly took down the flag and raised it again on the same pole as the American flag.

The players

Brad Hoylman-Sigal

The Manhattan Borough President and the first openly gay person elected to his job.

Jay W. Walker

One of the activists who helped secure the Pride flag in its eventual spot.

Ken Kidd

An activist who aided early efforts to get the flag installed permanently.

Donald Trump

The former Republican president who returned to office last year and has taken aim at diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the U.S. government.

Pete Hegseth

Trump's Defense secretary who renamed a Navy ship that had been named for Harvey Milk, a slain gay rights activist.

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What they’re saying

“We did it.”

— Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Manhattan Borough President

“If you can't fly a Pride flag steps from Stonewall monument, at the National monument for LGBTQ liberation, where can you fly it? So we put it back.”

— Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Manhattan Borough President

“We will keep doing this. Our community is not going to stand for our park, our flagpole, to be disrespected by the Trump administration.”

— Jay W. Walker, Activist

“The new Trump administration is literally stealing our pride, or attempting to. It is a form of identity theft, where they are truly trying to take away those symbols of what we stand for — those symbols of our history, those symbols of our progress, those symbols of our future.”

— Ken Kidd, Activist

What’s next

Activists vow to keep restoring the pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument if the National Park Service takes it down again.

The takeaway

The removal of the pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument, considered the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, is seen as a deliberate insult by the Trump administration, which has taken aim at diversity and inclusion initiatives across the federal government. New York officials and LGBTQ+ activists have vowed to keep restoring the flag, underscoring the continued fight for LGBTQ+ visibility and representation.