Hotspots Happening Out has a large group in Washington for WorldPride. The LGBTQ+ community is celebrating a major win just days before WorldPride descends on Washington, D.C. On Tuesday morning, D.C. Councilmember Zachary Parker announced that the National Park Service has rescinded its controversial plan to close Dupont Circle Park during the main Pride weekend.
He wrote on Twitter,
“The Park is central to the LGBTQ community, and neighbors will be able to enjoy it this year for World Pride.”
Just a day earlier, the Park Service had said it would fence off the park from Thursday to Monday, citing $175,000 in vandalism from 2023 and a formal request from D.C. police. The backlash was immediate, with queer leaders calling the closure a symbolic slap in the face during an international celebration of queer visibility. That pushback worked, and on Tuesday, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela A. Smith officially withdrew her request to close the park.
A department spokesperson told The Advocate,
“Chief Pamela A. Smith has heard from community members and understands how significant Dupont Circle Park is to the Pride celebration.”
Meanwhile, watchdog group PCJF has filed Freedom of Information Act requests demanding transparency. Their executive director, Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, said,
“The threatened removal of public space from the public’s use, notably in relation to LGBTQ+ Pride and in apparent service to Trump’s agenda, is a dangerous step and outside the legitimate authority of the Park Service.”
For now, though, the heart of D.C.’s LGBTQ+ community remains open—and Pride is back at Dupont Circle. Major events at DC’s World Pride begin tomorrow and run through the weekend.
