Florida state officials remove rainbow crosswalk memorial for Pulse nightclub victims

This story was updated 29/8/2025 to clarify that the Florida State Transport Department was responsible for remove the crosswalk memorial.

Florida state officials have covered up a memorial honouring the 49 victims of a 2016 shooting at Florida nightclub Pulse.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has condemned the “overnight” removal of a rainbow crosswalk memorial that was painted outside the LGBTQIA+ nightclub in 2017 following the incident.

The memorial was painted over during the night by the state's department of transportation on Wednesday, August 20, according to NBC News, as part of the state’s efforts to remove “political banners” from public roads.

On June 12, 2016, a homophobic mass shooting took place at the Orlando club, killing 49 people and wounding 68 more. Police officers fatally shot the perpetrator after a three-hour standoff.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said in a statement that he is “devastated” by the memorial’s removal, calling it a “callous” and “cruel political act” that happened “without any supporting safety data or discussion”.

“The crosswalk that is part of the Pulse Memorial was installed by the state,” he said. “We know that while this crosswalk has been removed, Orlando's commitment to honouring the 49 can never be erased.”

He added that the memorial “adhered to national safety standards”, and honoured what was the “nation’s largest mass shooting” at the time of the incident.

Queer senator Carlos Guillermo Smith also vocally opposed the crosswalk’s removal, calling it a “hostile act against the city of Orlando”, and an “illegal vandalisation” of city property.

In a video on Twitter, Guillermo Smith called out Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, saying he had “engaged in a hostile act” by “ripping the colours off of the crosswalk”.

In response to the video, DeSantis claimed: “We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes.”

Since the memorial’s removal, volunteers have taken it upon themselves to recolour the crosswalk using chalk. A protest also took place outside the venue yesterday, August 21, with supporters holding placards reading: “You’ll never erase us”.

Earlier this year, design plans for a long-awaited memorial honouring the victims of the shooting were completed. The memorial will be placed on the site of the venue next year, a decade after the deadly attack.

The vision for the site includes a visitor centre featuring an exhibition space, a "reflection pool" where the dancefloor once was, and a tribute wall, where a tree will be planted in honour of each victim.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on Twitter