A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore displays and interpretive materials removed from National Park sites as part of an effort to eliminate controversial diversity, equity and inclusion-related content.
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US District Judge Angel Kelley that the administration must reinstall exhibits and displays that were removed following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump last year. The order directed federal agencies to eliminate content deemed to inappropriately disparage Americans and to remove divisive interpretations of U.S. history.
The lawsuit was brought by a coalition of park advocacy organizations that accused the Interior Department and National Park Service of attempting to “erase history and undermine science” by removing exhibits from parks across the country.
, Kelley concluded that the administration’s actions amounted to censorship and threatened the credibility of the National Park System.
“The Government’s stewardship of these park sites thus carries a responsibility to present history in full rather than in favored fragments. Unfortunately, the Government has disregarded these principles,” Kelley wrote.
The judge further argued that the administration was narrowing historical interpretation by removing exhibits that did not align with its preferred view of American history.
“Under the guise of promoting American dignity, this Administration seeks to share a limited history by ordering the removal of all signs, displays, and interpretive exhibits at National Parks that do not align with its preferred narrative, thereby telling half-truths,” Kelley wrote.
The ruling obstructs Trump’s effort to repair how American history is presented at federal museums, historical sites and cultural institutions. The president has repeatedly criticized divisive narratives that focus heavily on the nation’s shortcomings.
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Trump’s executive order, signed in March, directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to remove “descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living” from public monuments, memorials and statues.
According to the lawsuit, federal officials subsequently identified and began removing hundreds of signs and exhibits from National Park sites. Examples cited in court included displays discussing slavery at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park and signage addressing climate-related threats at Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
The judge ordered the Interior Department to “take all necessary steps forthwith to restore and reinstall all interpretive materials” within 21 days, with the restoration to be completed ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.
“Because Defendants deemed it important to strip the parks of these undeniable truths in anticipation of the 250th Anniversary of our great Nation, it is equally important that our shared history be honestly told and fully restored by the 250th Anniversary to properly honor the remarkable achievements of the United States,” Kelley wrote.
The Interior Department signaled it may challenge the ruling.
“This ruling is from a liberal activist judge,” an Interior Department spokesperson said. “The Department will look at our appeal options while we celebrate UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House this weekend in honor of our nation’s 250th with the greatest president in the history of our country – President Donald J. Trump.”
Democracy Forward, which represented the plaintiffs, praised the decision and said the court had acted to stop what it described as unlawful government overreach.
“We are grateful that once again, judicial intervention has halted the unlawful overreach of the reckless Trump-Vance administration,” said Skye Perryman, the organization’s president and CEO. “And we are grateful the court not only stopped further censorship, but recognized the need to restore the exhibits the administration already illegally removed.”
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