Activist tries to rip down US flag at Stonewall National Monument as officials return Pride flag removed by Trump order

An LGBTQ activist tried to tear down the U.S. flag at the Stonewall National Monument during an event Thursday where officials returned a Pride flag removed by the Trump administration.

The Pride flag was removed on Tuesday from the monument in New York City that commemorated a riot against police by gay men in the ’60s.

‘The way the whole thing went down was pretty dramatic. … Gays have a sense of flair and drama.’

The crowd chanted, “Take it down!” and “Burn the American flag!” according to a USA Today report. Others chanted, “We will not be erased!”

Local officials did not give speeches and left immediately after returning the Pride flag.

The report said activists were upset that the flag had been put on a flagpole that was lower than the U.S. flag, so they took both down and used zip-ties to raise the Pride flag above the U.S. flag.

“We are reclaiming our space. It’s reclaiming our people; it’s reclaiming our culture,” one supporter said to WCBS-TV. “The flag has so much meaning behind it. The colors represent the diversity of our community. These are things you can’t take away from the community, which is why it’s so important for us to raise it again.”

“The way the whole thing went down was pretty dramatic,” said another attendee named Shep Wahnon. “Gays have a sense of flair and drama.”

Chloe Elentari, a transgender woman, told USA Today that the Trump administration was scapegoating transgender people in order to divert attention away from the Jeffrey Epstein files.

President Donald Trump had ordered all flags aside from the U.S. flag to be removed from federal buildings unless they were specifically authorized.

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The Stonewall National Monument was established in 2016 by President Barack Obama to recognize the riot as a milestone in the LGBTQ movement.

Activists were similarly angered in Feb. 2025 when the Trump administration removed transgender and lesbian references in the sign of the monument.

“This blatant act of erasure not only distorts the truth of our history, but it also dishonors the immense contributions of transgender individuals,” organizers said at the time, “especially transgender women of color — who were at the forefront of the Stonewall Riots and the broader fight for LGBTQ+ rights.”

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