NEW YORK – First, they removed the "T" from LGBTQ+.
Now, they've taken down the rainbow flag.
The Trump administration quietly removed a large pride flag at theStonewall National Monumentin New York City in recent days, just weeks after the government issued federal guidance on the types of flags that are allowed to be flown at national parks.
Volunteer caretakers of the monument noticed that the rainbow-colored flag had been removed on Monday, Feb. 9. The flag flew from atop a pole in a park across from the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village that was the scene of one of the most significant events in LGBTQ+ history.
"Removing the rainbow flag from the Stonewall National Monument again makes a target of what is sacred ground for our community – and another attempted act of erasure by an administration that has relentlessly attacked the LGBTQ+ community since the day it took office," said Cathy Renna, spokeswoman for the National LGBTQ Task Force.
The National Park Service said in a statement provided to USA TODAY that, with limited exceptions, only the U.S. flag and other authorized flags are permitted on flagpoles managed by the agency. The policy was outlined in a directive the agency issued on Jan. 21. Exemptions can include flags that provide historical context, current military branch flags and the flags of federally recognized Tribal nations.
"Any changes to flag displays are made to ensure consistency with that guidance," the statement said.
The removal of the flag, which has become an internationally recognized symbol of the gay-rights movement and the hard-fought gains it has won through years of struggles, infuriated activists as well as city and state leaders.
"I am outraged by the removal of the Rainbow Pride Flag from Stonewall National Monument," New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in astatementposted on X. "New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history. Our city has a duty not just to honor this legacy, but to live up to it."
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the decision "a shameful attempt to erase our LGBTQ history."
"I will not let this administration roll back the rights we fought so hard for," she said in amessageposted on X.
The Stonewall National Monument commemorates a clash between police and members of the LGBTQ+ community that took place after officers raided the Stonewall Inn in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969. For six days, gay men and women, transgender people, bikers, street kids and others fed up with police harassment fought back. The riots are considered the spark that ignited the modern LGBTQ+-rights movement.
The Stonewall uprising is regarded as such a significant chapter in American history that President Barack Obama designated the bar's exterior, the adjacent park and the surrounding streets as a national monument in 2016, so that what happened there, and the people involved, would never be forgotten. The bar itself remains privately owned.
The Stonewall Monument is the only site within the national park system dedicated to LGBTQ+ history, which makes its preservation all the more meaningful to activists and historians.
"It's a sacred space," said Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the Manhattan borough president, who recalled that Stonewall was the first place he visited when he moved to New York City three decades ago. "You really can't overestimate its importance to generations of LGBTQ people across the world."
More:Stonewall veterans sound alarm over Trump's attempt to erase trans history
Stacy Lentz, one of the bar's current owners, said the administration did not give her advance notice that the flag would be removed.
"We cannot allow the government to erase a historical fact," she said. "This isn't even about the politics of it all. This is about history, and that history has to be preserved."
"Stonewall taught us that our history doesn't survive unless we defend it," she added.
The removal of the flag marks the second time the Trump administration has targeted the monument in the past year.
Early last year, just weeks after PresidentDonald Trumptook office for the second time, the administration angered LGBTQ+ activists when it stripped allreferences to transgender peoplefrom the monument's website. The administration said the change was in keeping with Trump's broader campaign to recognize the existence of just two sexes – male and female – and combat what he calls "gender ideology."
Following that decision, more than 1,000 protesters showed up at a rally to support the transgender community and challenge the administration's actions. Another rally is planned for Tuesday evening, Feb. 10, to send a message to the administration to keep its hands off the park and its history.
More:Miss Major, 'foundational mother' of transgender movement, Stonewall veteran, dies at 78
Hoylman-Sigal and other state and community leaders are also planning a separate event on Thursday, Feb. 12, to again raise the flag over the park in defiance of the Trump administration.
"This is a flashpoint, just as it was back in 1969, for standing up for what you believe is right," Hoylman-Sigal said.
Michael Collins writes about the intersection of politics and culture. A veteran reporter, he has covered the White House and Congress. Follow him on X: @mcollinsNEWS.
Eduardo Cuevas is a national reporter for USA Today.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trump's park removed pride flag from Stonewall monument
