The authorities in Washington, D.C., said a park in Dupont Circle would be closed during Pride celebrations this weekend after all, after days of back-and-forth among city leaders over the longstanding gathering spot for the L.G.B.T.Q. community.
The National Park Service, which administers the site, said it would be closed from Thursday until 6 p.m. Sunday “for the maintenance of public health and safety and protection of natural and cultural resources.” In a document dated Wednesday and shared on Friday, it said the closure had been requested by the U.S. Park Police, a unit of the Park Service.
Crews near the park appeared to be unloading fencing early Friday at the park, according to WUSA, a CBS-affiliated local broadcaster.
The Park Service announced earlier this week that it would close the site, which sits inside a traffic circle, on a request by Washington, D.C., police. The police cited concerns about potential vandalism and disorderly behavior over the weekend during WorldPride, an international celebration of the L.G.B.T.Q. community that the city is hosting this year.
There were no official WorldPride events set to be held in the park, although the event’s parade on Saturday is expected to pass a few blocks away.
The decision to close an area with a long history as a hub for the city’s L.G.B.T.Q. community — at a time when the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity programs has left Pride events nationwide facing financial pressures — met with an outcry. City Council members and residents complained to the Metropolitan Police Department, the city’s police force, prompting the police chief, Pamela A. Smith, to rescind the department’s request for the Park Service to close the park.
But the Park Service, in the document from Wednesday, said that the U.S. Park Police had determined for security reasons that the area should be clear during the weekend, saying, “Less restrictive measures will not suffice.”
In April, Chief Smith had asked the Park Police to close the site this weekend, citing “significant challenges” in policing the area during Pride events in past years. She said the area had seen physical altercations, vandalism of the park’s historic foundation and other disturbances from crowds that had strained police resources.
On Tuesday, Chief Smith said that the police force did have the resources to patrol the area, adding that she had “heard from community members” and would cancel the request to close the park.
But the Park Service disagreed. An official with the U.S. Park Police, Major Frank Hilsher, said in a memo on Wednesday that the threat of violence, criminal acts and damage had only increased since the city police’s original request to close the park, prompting the agency to close it. A spokesman for the U.S. Park Police did not immediately respond to a request for additional information.
“Other options such as increased law enforcement presence without closing the park would not be feasible or effective to protect visitors and resources,” he said in the memo, which a Park Service spokesman shared on Friday.
The Metropolitan Police Department on Friday referred questions about the park to the Park Service and the U.S. Park Police. Mayor Muriel Bowser did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The United States last hosted a WorldPride event six years ago, in New York City, and city officials said at the time that there had been no significant disruption to public safety. Washington won the bid to host this year, though like other Pride events in the United States it has navigated cancellations and pullbacks in corporate sponsorship. Pride organizers have pointed to fears that the Trump administration, which is cracking down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, could punish corporations for showing support for gay and transgender rights.
Isabella Kwai is a Times reporter based in London, covering breaking news and other trends.
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