Needless to say there is significant concern on how this will transpire with the community." "He was OK with us donating all flags except NPS to the city. Todd instructed us to remove all flags-U.S., NPS, the POW-MIA and pride flags-from the pole tonight,” Bob Vogel, who was then-National Park Service acting deputy director, wrote in an email to Mike Reynolds, then-NPS acting director. Five days before the flag was set to be honored with an official ceremony, Willens ordered the flag removed.Īs seen in the emails, officials were aware and concerned about how this would be perceived in the LGBTQ community: "We did determine that while the flag pole is in the authorized boundary, the US Government does not own the land on which the flag pole sits. "Can you please get details from NPS and report back?" Todd Willens, who was an assistant deputy secretary and is now the chief of staff to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, wrote in one of the emails after learning about the flag's planned placement. They then frantically moved to distance themselves from the whole thing. The only problem was that Trump administration officials freaked out behind-the-scenes upon learning of the flag, sending emails to National Park Service officials questioning why it was happening.
It was a big moment in LGBTQ history-the first time a pride flag would be permanently raised on federal land.
Although President Obama designated the park and bar a national monument in 2016, it took until the fall of 2017 for the pride flag to be officially put up. This information came out thanks to 992 pages of emails released under the Freedom of Information Act to E&E News. But it seems the Trump administration was not so keen on the pride flag appearing on federal property, to the point that they gifted the flag to the NYC Parks Department so they wouldn't have to deal with it. And while there, they'll see the iconic LGBT pride flag on display just on the eastern tip of the landmarked national park. With the launch of the WorldPride festival coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the uprising at the Stonewall Inn later this week, it's likely that tens of thousands of people will stop by the Stonewall National Monument (which includes the Stonewall Inn and Christopher Park across the street) to pay tribute to the bar's legacy this weekend.