Uncertainty lingers over Dupont Circle's status ahead of WorldPride Parade
WASHINGTON () — With just two days left until the Parade in Washington, D.C., accessibility to Dupont Circle remains unclear, and city leaders are sending mixed signals about what to expect.
Earlier this week, both D.C. and U.S. Park police over the weekend due to safety concerns. The decision stemmed from previous Pride weekends, when police said the area saw property damage, looting, underage drinking, and even reports of gunfire. The historic fountain at the center of the circle was reportedly damaged as well.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE | DC police recinds request to close Dupont Circle park during WorldPride after pushback from DC community
But following public pushback, including opposition from Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker, D.C. police have backed off their initial request.
While the National Park Service has not yet made a final decision, many residents are calling for a solution that balances celebration and safety.
'It's a symbol for the gay community. It's a symbol for this neighborhood. It's one of the best neighborhoods in the city,' said Richard Lewis, who has lived near Dupont Circle for more than 20 years. 'I was disgusted and embarrassed [by the behavior last year]. I thought, this is not how we treat our neighborhoods. It was a slap to the gay community, knowing fully well that the parade wasn't even there.'
Instead of a full closure, some neighbors are advocating for a compromise — keeping the park open, but with increased law enforcement.
WorldPride underway in DC for first time
'I understand both sides of the story,' added Lewis. 'I'd like to see it remain open with increased police presence so people know there's accountability and that they shouldn't be damaging public or private property.'
In a statement, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith confirmed the department's shift, saying, 'After hearing from community leaders and residents, I am formally withdrawing MPD's request to close Dupont Circle Park… While US Park Police will make the final call, MPD will have resources available if needed.'
As of now, with a little more than 48 hours until the start of the parade, no final word has come from the National Park Service or U.S. Park Police about whether the park will remain open or closed.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
E&E News
an hour ago
- E&E News
NPS shutters DC's Dupont Circle for WorldPride festival
Celebrations for an international LGBTQ+ pride event in the nation's capital Saturday won't include a storied gathering spot for gay rights. The National Park Service closed Dupont Circle from Thursday to Sunday, for the duration of the WorldPride parade and street festival, at the request of the Park Police. Officials justified the decision by pointing to vandalism at the park in prior years. Kevin Griess, the superintendent for the National Mall and Memorial Parks, wrote in a record of decision Thursday that the Park Police believed the closure was needed to 'deter potential violence, reduce the risk of destructive acts and decrease the need for extensive law enforcement presences.' Advertisement The decision also underscores the park service's efforts to comply with President Donald Trump's 'Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful' mandate earlier this year that called for increased law enforcement presence on federal property in the city.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sask. Party MLAs remain banned from Pride parades in Regina, Prince Albert, Battlefords
Regina's Queen City Pride (QCP) and other organizations have decided to maintain their ban on Saskatchewan Party MLAs during Pride month festivities in June. Responding to Bill 137, which passed in October 2023, Pride groups around Saskatchewan last year barred Sask. Party MLAs from participating in Pride events. The bill, also known as the Parental Bill of Rights, requires students under 16 to obtain parental or guardian consent 'before the pupil's teachers and other employees of the school use the pupil's new gender-related preferred name or gender identity at school.' As a result, the Pride flag is not being raised at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building for a second year in a row. According to QCP co-chair Riviera Bonneau, if the government isn't willing to reverse its policy, then neither is QC Pride. The province did not respond to a request for comment before the Leader-Post's print deadline. 'The existing Government of Saskatchewan has not done anything to rectify Bill 137,' Bonneau said Friday. 'They have not spoken with any queer organizations to try to do better.' The Queen City Pride Festival — an annual 10-day celebration of Regina's gender and sexually diverse communities — officially opened Friday with a flag-raising ceremony at Regina City Hall. The annual Pride parade from which MLAs were banned last year is scheduled for next Saturday. Several groups are holding the line on their policy, with Prince Albert Pride and Battlefords and Area Pride maintaining their respective bans. 'They're not welcome,' said Kelly Waters, secretary of Battlefords and Area Pride. 'They haven't changed their positions.' Waters said it's important for the organization to create a safe environment for its members — and inviting the MLAs would 'not be safe.' Andromeda Eremondi, chair of Prince Albert Pride, said the organization would consider an application from Sask. Party MLAs. However, it would only happen if they denounce Bill 137 and commit to repealing it while also refusing to engage in 'any of the change-room nonsense' which reared its head during the provincial election in October 2024. The provincial government subsequently announced that Saskatchewan school boards would be required to implement change-room policies regarding trans and gender-diverse students. 'We are hesitant to allow politicians that aren't proven allies,' Eremondi said via email. 'We're wary of those saying they love our community while working to attack members within our community.' During Friday's flag raising in Regina, speakers focused on the importance of visibility while sticking to the root of Pride's cause as shown through protests and political action. Asked what she feels the response will be to the continued MLA ban, Bonneau said: 'I think the response from the Saskatchewan government will be apathy. 'I unfortunately do not think they care about us, which is why it's incredibly important for us to stand up every year and make sure we tell them: we do not like what they are doing, and we will oppose it, and we will stand against it every year.' Saskatchewan passes school pronoun bill using notwithstanding clause 'They're not our allies': Queen City Pride bars Sask. Party from Pride month celebrations alsalloum@ The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
National Park Service closes D.C.'s historic Dupont Circle Park during WorldPride
The National Park Service and U.S. Park Police on Thursday evening closed Dupont Circle Park, widely known as the heart of Washington,'s LGBTQ neighborhood, ahead of the final weekend of WorldPride, an international Pride celebration being held in the nation's capital this year. This year's parade route was not set to go through Dupont Circle, but the park has traditionally hosted unofficial celebrations after Pride events. It was home to some of D.C.'s earliest Pride celebrations in the 1970s as well as major protests during both the LGBTQ rights and Civil Rights Movements. The park service said in a letter Wednesday that the park would be closed from 6 p.m. Thursday until 6 p.m. Sunday. The letter said the U.S. Park Police had determined that the closure is necessary to 'secure the park, deter potential violence, reduce the risk of destructive acts and decrease the need for extensive law enforcement presences.' Capital Pride Alliance, which organizes D.C. Pride and is hosting this year's WorldPride celebration, said Friday that it is 'frustrated and disappointed' in the park service's decision to close Dupont Circle during WorldPride. 'This beloved landmark is central to the community that WorldPride intends to celebrate and honor,' Capital Pride Alliance said in a statement. 'It's much more than a park, for generations it's been a gathering place for DC's LGBTQ+ community, hosting first amendment assemblies and memorial services for those we lost to the AIDS epidemic and following tragic events like the Pulse nightclub shooting.' The organization added that the 'sudden move' was 'made overnight without consultation with the Capital Pride Alliance or other local officials,' and that no WorldPride activities were planned in Dupont Circle and thus no official events would be affected. The park's closure comes after weeks of back and forth between D.C. police and federal officials. D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith requested a full closure of the park in April, and on Tuesday morning, the National Parks Service issued a statement that the park would be closed through the final weekend of WorldPride festivities due to the request from Smith and U.S. Park Police, NBC Washington reported. That same day, Smith rescinded the request after meeting with members of the community to talk about the significance of the park to the Pride celebration, according to NBC Washington, and Smith told two D.C. City Council members that the park would remain open for the weekend. Then, in a letter Wednesday, Major Frank Hilsher of the U.S. Park Police requested that 'anti-scale' fencing, which is designed to prevent people from climbing over it, be used to close the park. Hilsher's letter, which was included with the park service's letter, detailed a number of incidents that occurred in the park after formal Pride events over the years, including vandalism in 2023 that resulted in $175,000 in damage to the park's historic fountain. He added that open-source intelligence reporting has 'identified a local DJ advertising and selling tickets to an unpermitted gathering/party in Dupont Circle following World Pride events.' The event, Hilsher said, is not sanctioned by WorldPride and has not applied for a separate permit that would allow the park service to manage the event. 'This social media advertisement is stating that this is the same DJ and 'party' as the previous several years, which have resulted in the unsafe conditions and damages recounted above,' Hilsher said in the letter. Organizers of WorldPride estimated that as many as 3 million people could attend, though they also issued a warning to potential transgender attendees from outside of the U.S. to come at their own risk and consider travel advisories from some European countries. In just the first few weeks of his second administration, President Donald Trump issued several executive orders targeting trans people, including declaring that there are only two unchangeable sexes; prohibiting trans people from enlisting and serving in the military; barring trans girls and women from competing on female sports teams in federally-funded K-12 schools and colleges; and barring federal funding from going to hospitals that provide transition-related care to minors. As a result of Trump's executive order defining sex, federal officials have also scrubbed agency websites of any mention of transgender or intersex people. References to transgender and queer people were removed from the webpage for the Stonewall National Monument commemorating the site of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, widely considered a turning point in the modern gay rights movement. A web page dedicated to Frank Kameny, an LGBTQ rights pioneer, was also erased from the National Park Service website this year. The National Park Service's webpage for Dupont Circle Park also now says that the park 'has served as the anchor of a neighborhood of diplomats, government officials, war commemorations, and the LGB community for over 200 years,' removing transgender and queer from the LGBTQ acronym. Earlier this week, the Navy confirmed to NBC News that it would rename the USNS Harvey Milk, a fleet replenishment oiler named for the LGBTQ rights activist, Navy veteran and first openly gay man elected to public office in California. This article was originally published on
