Employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Hampton Medical Center in Virginia say they were warned during the week of October 13 that they could be fired or disciplined for wearing or displaying rainbow-themed items, including official VA Pride lanyards, according to messages reviewed by The Advocate. The employees are being kept anonymous out of fear of retaliation.

The exchanges suggest that the directive, which employees say came from local leadership, cited an “executive order,” creating confusion and fear among staff.

That order appears linked to the Trump administration’s rollback of protections for transgender, nonbinary, and intersex veterans. As The Advocate previously reported, the VA in March rescinded Directive 1341, a long-standing policy that ensured those veterans received respectful, clinically appropriate health careand were protected from discrimination. The department justified the move by citing President Donald Trump’s “Defending Women” executive order, which redefined gender as strictly binary and based on sex assigned at birth.

In one message, an employee wrote that a physician at the Hampton facility told a colleague, “Anything rainbow like lanyards can get us fired on the spot.” The employee added, “There’s nothing in writing that says this, and she can’t provide anything in writing either.”

Another message described comments made by Michael W. Harper, the hospital’s interim executive director. “Mr. Harper said as much in the morning report yesterday,” one employee wrote. “This morning, he backtracked all of it and said flyers, lanyards, shirts, [and] banners associated with clinical care of LGBTQ vets are approved by central office.”

Later in the same exchange, a staff member wrote that Harper “acted like other people said it, but he totally said it. You can’t ‘promote that community.’”

Internal VA documents reviewed by The Advocate in March showed that signage for bathrooms and residential units was changed to “male,” “female,” or “unisex,” and that materials using the term “gender” were altered to say “sex.” The rescission, signed by acting Undersecretary for Health Steven Lieberman, stripped protections for transgender veterans, removing language that had safeguarded access to hormone therapy, mental health care, and equitable treatment.

Related: We are Veterans Affairs clinicians. Our leadership is failing veterans

LGBTQ+ advocacy groups condemned the change, warning it would have catastrophic mental and physical health consequences. One Hampton psychologist who resigned shortly after the start of the second Trump administration, Dr. Mary Brinkmeyer, told The Advocate this year that the rollback “confirmed concerns” that local administrators would feel emboldened to impose new restrictions on visible LGBTQ+ expression.

The Hampton messages suggest that local staff interpreted or invoked the “Defending Women” order to justify new limits on rainbow apparel and Pridesymbols.

Other interactions reviewed by The Advocate show supervisors relaying the warning to staff and saying the guidance came from “central office.” One staff member wrote, “They stated, per executive order, you cannot have lanyards, rainbow magnets, [or] shirts … and Central Office is coming down on our leadership, which is spilling down to us.” Another employee, refusing to comply, wrote, “I’m going to wear my official VA-issued rainbow lanyard tomorrow as usual. I’m going to need an official policy or statement before I remove it, and y’all are gonna need to provide me with a replacement.”

Related: Transgender vets deserve access to gender-affirming care, Veterans Affairs providers say (exclusive)

In one exchange, a staff member attributed the clampdown to internal complaints, writing, “It’s because we have staff and vets being little snowflakes about colors, [which is] why they are coming down on it.” The same message said hospital leadership told staff to comply “to prevent us from receiving any disciplinary action” and that “Harper is threatening disciplinary action.”

A former VA employee familiar with internal discussions confirmed to The Advocate that the incident originated at Hampton.

A provider at another East Coast VA hospital, whose identity is being protected to prevent retaliation, also told The Advocate they had “heard that about Hampton.” While it “hasn’t been an issue for [our location],” the provider said, “any facilities [that] say you can’t wear them are going against policy.”

The VA has not clarified whether the Hampton directive was approved by headquarters or issued independently. The Advocate reached out to Harper on Monday to request comment, but he did not respond. VA Press Secretary Pete Kasperowicz acknowledged a separate inquiry by The Advocate last week. He asked for details and additional time but did not follow up or respond to subsequent emails.

Related: Trump’s VA rescinds policy treating transgender vets with dignity (exclusive)

The reported situation comes amid growing concern inside the VA over LGBTQ+ visibility and care under Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins. As The Advocate has reported, the department has halted new gender-affirming carefor transgender veterans who were not already receiving it, and providers have been instructed not to write letters supporting gender-affirming surgeries at outside facilities. Clinicians have described an “underground resistance” to policies they say conflict with medical ethics and patient welfare.