Despite allegedly resolved the controversy resulting from the planned closure of Dupont Circle during WorldPride, the National Park Service advanced the closure anyway, posting caution tapes and constructing “anti-scale” fencing around the boundary line.
The Dupont Circle is considered the “mind” of DC’s historic “Gayborhood.”
The record of resolve dated June 5th was signed by Kebbinglease, director of National Mall and Memorial Parks, and said the U.S. National Park Service will close the circle, which will take effect on Thursday, June 5th at 6pm to Sunday, June 8th at 6pm.
In a memo printed in the Interior Letterhead department, Grease said the closure came at the request of the U.S. Parks Police.
“in [U.S. Park Police]Griess wrote: “This closure is necessary to maintain public health and safety at Dupont Circle Park and to protect natural and cultural resources.
“With USPP’s security-based assessment that the park area needs to be kept clear, fewer restrictive measures are not sufficient,” Gris added, noting that the closure of the circle “will not result in a significant change in public use patterns.”
“[T]His closure is not of a highly controversial nature, as evident from the lack of a requirement to utilize the closed area without adversely affecting the natural, aesthetic or cultural values of the park. Equivalent closures and public use restrictions are common when necessary and provide protection for the park and public,” he concluded.
Griess cited three cases from 2019, 2023 and 2024, “damage to park resources and dangerous conditions for the public,” and provided an assessment of criminal or destructive behavior that could appear in the circle, including a copy of a memo from Major Frank Hillser, commander of the Icon Protection Division of the U.S. Park Police Department, as a justification for the closure.
Hillser cited the 2019 incident in which gunshots were allegedly heard at the park, causing people to escape from an area of belief that there are active shooters.
Levellers knocked down the barriers and led to a full-scale stampede as people seeking cover escaped the circle. Police later arrested a man with a firearm in connection with the incident.
Hillser also said the National Park Service claimed that after the 2023 Pride Weekend event, Dupont Circle Park was destroyed, causing about $175,000 in damage to the historic fountain. And then, in 2024, during Pride weekend, a large group of boys entered the park and engaged in illegal activities.
Hillser agreed to the initial assessment of Police Chief Pamela Smith, who filed a request with the U.S. Park Police on April 22, noting that the National Park Service had requested that the circle be closed and “anti-scale” fencing be carried out to prevent criminal mischief.
“While some community leaders and residents have expressed concern over the closure of DuPont Circle against the MPD, the threat of violence, criminal activity and destruction of NPS resources has only increased since the park closure request on April 22, 2025,” he wrote.
Hillser noted that local DJs are promoting and selling tickets to dogmaless, unauthorized gatherings at DuPont Circle, following the official WorldPride event.
The same DJ and the informal “party” are believed to have contributed to the aforementioned criminal acts over the previous year. He also argued that increasing the presence of law enforcement in the circle would “be either feasible or ineffective to protect visitors and resources.”
Opponents of the closure argue that the disorderly conduct and incidents of vandalism that took place in the circle were not carried out by pride revelations and may not have been committed even by LGBTQ people. The Capital Pride Alliance also notes that there have been no official pride events in the park in recent years.
Earlier in the week, after facing public pressure and repulsion from the public, local elected officials likely settled the controversy, claiming that Smith had sent a letter rescinding his previous request to close the circle. However, over the past 24 hours, they have been informed that U.S. Parks Police have not respected Smith’s requests and have not proceeded with plans to block the area.
Provided by an MPD spokesman Metro Weekly A copy of the letter dated June 3rd retracted her previous request.
“In order to prevent the previous year’s incident from recurring, particularly with the demand for WorldPride 2025,
MPD requested the closure of Dupont Circle Park and the installation of anti-scale fencing around it
Smith wrote in that letter. “However, after hearing from community leaders and residents, I have officially withdrawn the MPD request to close DuPont Circle Park and withdrawn the installation of anti-scale fencing around the boundary from Thursday, June 5, 2025 to Monday, June 9, 2025.
However, Smith also said in her report that the final decision would be left to the US Parks Police.
“Chief Pamela A. Smith has heard from members of the community and understands how important Dupont Circle Park is to celebrate Pride,” an MPD spokesman said in a statement. “MPD is ready to support the National Park Service and the US Park Police during this weekend event.”
The spokesman introduced all other questions regarding the park closure to the NPS and the US Park Police.
DC Councillor Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) is the only LGBTQ member of the council who previously persuaded Smith to withdraw her request, and expressed his anger at the reappearance of the issue where many thoughts were resolved.
“It is infuriating that the National Park Service issued another notice to close Dupont Circle Park after MPD Chief Smith cancelled its initial request for closure earlier this week,” Parker said in a statement. “Dupont Circle is the sacred position of the LGBTQ+ community. It is a place with a rich history of protest, pride and joy. We close it with one of the community’s most important global celebrations. [We] You certainly shouldn’t sit quietly while LGBTQ+ spaces like Dupont Circle Park are closed during world pride. ”
A committee member of the local advisory office, representing the Dupont Circle area, expressed dissatisfaction with the National Park Service’s decision to move forward by closing the circle. However, they also pointed their fingers at the Metropolitan Police Department and Mayor DC Muriel Bowser, accusing them of deliberately leaving the committee in the darkness.
ANC 2B Commissioner Jeff Lukgauer reported that the district, including Dupont Circle Park Metro Weekly The closure of DuPont Circle was “unfortunate” earlier this week, but the MPD and the mayor need to take some accountability.
“The MPD didn’t come up with this and believes it escalated to the Parks Bureau and the Park Police without the mayor’s approval,” Rueckgauer said. “I’ll find it In particular, it scorns the mayor essentially smiles on our faces about what has been sparkling worldwide over the past few weeks. At least she’s known about it last week. ”
Similarly, ANC 2B Commissioner Vincent Slatt pointed out that despite the application of Smith’s request to the National Park Service in April, the ANC commissioner was left in the dark.
“This is a bigger pattern for the Wilson building and the city’s executives who don’t know what’s going on with the ANC and don’t ask for input,” Slatt said in an interview with. Metro Weekly.
He noted that Smith had known about the requested closure since April, but had never mentioned anything to the local ANC commissioner. “It’s really upsetting because she never knew the ANC was doing this. For now, I don’t know if it’s a violation of the home rules. [MPD is] We are supposed to inform us and give our opinion on what is related to our neighborhood. And they didn’t do that.
“It is important for people to know that the ANC is an elected representative of our neighborhood, and our pledge is to defend the Constitution and Home Rules Act. We ask that governments be advised about our neighborhood decisions and the greatest concerns of the district as a whole. We are an integral part of Home Rules.
Surat says he and his fellow commissioners are “offended” about the closure of Dupont Circle, which he describes as “peaceful anger.”
“This is a historic enclave in a gay neighborhood,” he says. “Back to the White House’s first picket in 1965 and back to the emergency vigil, featuring a march from Dupont Circle to the White House in 1983, the circle was part of a legacy of pride and activity.
He said, “The mayor says World Pride is attracting attention in Washington. [allegedly] Most gay cities in the country [city] Management is very gay and everything in the city is gay friendly and so on. But doing this at the heart of DuPont Circle is just deaf to what the community is and how we celebrate our pride. ”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
