Trans Memorial Flags Removed from Boston Common

Advocates Demand Hate Crime Probe

More than 400 transgender pride flags honoring victims of anti-trans violence were removed from Boston Common this week, prompting LGBTQ+ advocates to call for a hate crime investigation.

The Queer Neighborhood Council condemned what it called a "hateful act of vandalism" against the Trans Flag Memorial, which had been legally installed with a city permit, according to an Instagram statement the group released Thursday.

The 425 miniature flags were planted Sunday across from the State House to honor "every known trans and gender-expansive person lost to fatal violence since 2020," Jack Imbergamo, the council's executive director, told the original news outlet.

By Tuesday morning, Nov. 18, all the flags were gone after witnesses reported seeing multiple people removing them Monday night, according to Imbergamo.

The removal occurred during Transgender Awareness Week, which culminates Thursday with Transgender Day of Remembrance.

In a statement, Rep. Ayanna Pressley called the incident "absolutely despicable" and "a stark reminder of the hostility towards trans people — in life and in death."

A council member filed a police report, though Boston Police, Mayor Michelle Wu's office, and Gov. Maura Healey's office did not respond to requests for comment, according to published reports.

The incident comes amid rising anti-trans violence nationwide. The Human Rights Campaign's 2024 report documented hundreds of instances of anti-trans violence in America, calling the attacks an "epidemic."