Trump Administration Sued Over Removal of Stonewall Pride Flag

LGBTQ+ advocates and community group file lawsuit after flag's abrupt removal from national monument

Published on Feb. 19, 2026

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The Trump administration has been sued over the removal of the Pride rainbow flag from the Stonewall National Monument in New York City. The lawsuit claims the federal government's justification for the removal, citing rules barring anything but U.S. flags, is false, as policies actually permit flying flags that provide historical context to national monuments.

Why it matters

The Stonewall Inn and surrounding area is considered the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, after the 1969 uprising against a police raid. The removal of the Pride flag is seen as an attack on LGBTQ+ history and representation at a nationally significant monument.

The details

The lawsuit was filed by a group of LGBTQ+ advocates and a Greenwich Village community group, arguing the Pride flag had flown at the Stonewall National Monument since 2022 after a flagpole was installed. The removal occurred on February 9th, with the government claiming Department of the Interior rules bar the flying of anything but U.S. flags, DOI flags, and the POW/MIA flags in national parks.

  • The Pride flag had flown at the Stonewall National Monument since 2022 after a flagpole was installed there.
  • The flag was removed on February 9, 2026.

The players

Stonewall National Monument

A national monument located across from the Stonewall Inn, where the 1969 police raid and subsequent riots and protests ignited the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.

LGBTQ+ advocates and Greenwich Village community group

The plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit against the Trump administration over the removal of the Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument.

Trump administration

The defendant in the lawsuit, accused of arbitrarily removing the Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument.

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What they’re saying

“New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history.”

— Zohran Mamdani, New York Mayor (X)

“We will not allow Donald Trump to engineer a crusade against the LGBTQ community and rewrite history.”

— Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader (X)

What’s next

The lawsuit will proceed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, with the plaintiffs seeking to have the Pride flag restored at the Stonewall National Monument.

The takeaway

This dispute over the removal of the Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument highlights the ongoing battles over LGBTQ+ representation and the preservation of LGBTQ+ history and civil rights landmarks under the Trump administration.