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MANHATTAN (CN) — A group of LGBTQ+ advocates sued the Trump administration on Tuesday after it pulled down a pride flag at the historic Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village last week.
In an 41-page lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York, the group claims that the sudden removal of the rainbow flag from Stonewall was no error, but instead based on an “impermissible animus” against the queer community by the current government.
“This was no careless mistake,” the advocates say. “The government has not removed other historical flags at other national monuments, notably Confederate flags.”
The National Park Service quietly removed the flag last week pursuant to a memo from the U.S. Department of the Interior, which mandates that federally maintained parks only fly the American flag, the Department of the Interior flag and the Prisoners of War flag.
The move sparked widespread controversy and condemnation from city elected officials, some of whom congregated at the monument last week to erect another pride flag in its place.
Named after the iconic gay bar Stonewall Inn located across the street — widely seen as the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement — the monument is the only national park dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community.
According to the suing group, that’s precisely why the Trump administration targeted it.
“The assault on Stonewall is the latest example in a long line of efforts by the Trump administration to target the LGBTQ+ community for discrimination and opprobrium,” the advocates claim. “The Trump administration has deleted numerous NPS websites discussing LGBTQ+ history; fired at least one federal employee for displaying a pride flag in his office; banned the use of pronouns in email signatures … and — in a particularly absurd example — even flagged for deletion images of the B-29 aircraft Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb, apparently because the images included the word ‘Gay.’”
The group of plaintiffs includes a trio of nonprofits: the Gilbert Baker Foundation, dedicated to the legacy of the creator of the rainbow pride flag; Village Preservation, which preserves the architectural and cultural heritage of Greenwich Village; and Equality New York, a statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy group.
According to the nonprofits, the government’s selective enforcement of the Interior Department flag rule is arbitrary and capricious, thus running afoul of the Administrative Procedure Act. Each organization claims they’ve been forced to divert resources in response to the flag’s removal, giving them standing to sue.
They’re seeking a court order requiring the government to reinstate the flag.
“The government’s decision is deeply disturbing and is just the latest example of the Trump administration targeting the LGBTQ+ community,” said Alexander Kristofcak, a lawyer for the plaintiffs with the Washington Litigation Group. “The Park Service’s policies permit flying flags that provide historical context at monuments. That is precisely what the pride flag does. It provides important context for a monument that honors a watershed moment in LGBTQ+ history.
“At best, the government misread its regulations,” Kristofcak added, “At worst, the government singled out the LGBTQ+ community. Either way, its actions are unlawful.”
A spokesperson for the Interior Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Stonewall flagpole that once bore a large rainbow banner sat bare for several days until last Wednesday, when a U.S. flag took its place.
A day later, city officials including Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams hosted a rally and raised a large pride flag alongside the Stars and Stripes — prompting some jeers from onlookers who wanted the pride flag to fully replace it.
“Take it down!” the crowd shouted. Some shouted “cowards” at the politicians.
In 2016, then-President Barack Obama designated Stonewall Inn and Sheridan Square across the street as a national monument. The Inn was the site of the Stonewall Riots, prompted by a series of police raids at the bar, which then kickstarted nationwide gay rights activism in the late 1960s.
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