Judge Orders Trump Administration to Restore National Park Exhibits

U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley issued a preliminary injunction ordering the Trump administration to restore historical and scientific exhibits at national parks and monuments nationwide. The ruling follows a lawsuit filed in February 2026 by a coalition of advocacy groups, including the National Parks Conservation Association and the Association of National Park Rangers, challenging a March 2025 executive order titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History."

President Donald Trump signed the order to remove content he claimed inappropriately disparaged Americans or promoted a revisionist narrative. Under the direction of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the National Park Service removed signage and exhibits concerning slavery, climate change, Indigenous history, labor history, and LGBTQ+ issues. Specific examples cited by the court included slavery exhibits at Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park, climate threat signs at Fort Sumter, and LGBTQ+ imagery at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.

Judge Kelley characterized the administration's actions as a dangerous precedent of censorship and an attempt to rewrite history with a white-out pen. The court mandated that the government restore all altered or removed materials by July 4, 2026, to coincide with the nation's 250th anniversary, and required weekly progress reports. The United States Department of the Interior criticized the ruling, labeling Judge Kelley a liberal activist judge, and subsequently filed a notice of appeal with the First Circuit Court in Boston on June 16, 2026, while seeking a motion to pause the decision.