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.
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.
Posted by John3262005