In the early hours of Monday morning, police officers and work crews descended on Houston’s Montrose neighborhood to remove a rainbow-painted crosswalk that had long stood as both a symbol of queer pride and a memorial to a young man killed at the intersection, Chron reports. The move, carried out quietly before dawn, followed an escalating standoff over the future of LGBTQ+ visibility in public spaces across Texas.
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Shortly after 2 a.m., city contractors arrived at the intersection of Westheimer Road and Taft Street with a cold-planing machine and a convoy of trucks. They were met by a small group of protesters who had gathered after hearing from local advocacy groups that the crosswalk’s removal was imminent, ABC affiliate KHOU reports. Demonstrators sat on the rainbow stripes, waved Pride flags, played guitar, and sang songs by Radiohead and R.E.M. as Houston METRO and police officers closed off the intersection.
Related: Why several states are destroying their rainbow crosswalks
Protesters demostrate during a Don't Mess with Texas Rainbow on the corner of Westheimer Road and Taft Street in Houston spurred by Texas Gov. Abbott threatening state funds if the city doesn't remove the rainbow crosswalk on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025.Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
By 3:20 a.m., Houston Police’s Special Response Group had fenced in the demonstrators and issued three dispersal warnings. When no one moved, officers began making arrests — three in total, including activist and city council candidate Ethan Hale, Chron reports.
The crosswalk, installed in 2017 after 21-year-old Alex Hill was killed in a hit-and-run at the intersection, had become both a neighborhood landmark and a reflection of Montrose’s deep LGBTQ+ history, according to the paper. City Council member Abbie Kamin said she learned late Sunday that the work would take place in the dead of night, calling the decision “shameful.”
Related: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy implies rainbow crosswalks could lead to traffic dangers
Across multiple Republican-led states, similar rainbow-crosswalk-removal efforts reflect broader policy aims. The Advocate has reported that authorities in Florida, following guidance from the U.S. Department of Transportation, have begun eliminating rainbow crosswalks by claiming they pose safety risks or violate standard roadway protocols. The LGBTQ+ community views these moves less as traffic-control decisions and more as efforts to erase visible markers of their existence.
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent directive to remove what he called “political or ideological” markings from public roads has pushed Houston, and several Texas cities, into conflict with state leadership. Under Abbott’s order, municipalities risk losing transportation funding if they maintain Pride-themed infrastructure, Chron reports.
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