Trump’s changes to history at national parks must be undone, judge rules

President Trump’s attempt to rewrite the past Museums, parks and landmarks across the country were demolished Friday, and a federal judge called on the administration to restore changes already made across the country.

The preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Massachusetts also orders a pause on any additional changes, writing that the plaintiffs show that these efforts amount to “rewriting the Nation’s history with a white pen.”

“Under the guise of extolling American pride, this Administration seeks to share a limited history by ordering the removal of all signs, exhibits, and interpretive exhibits in National Parks that do not fit its preferred narrative and therefore tells half-truths,” Kelley said. he wrote.

The Trump administration issued an executive order titled: “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” In March 2025, national parks were ordered not to display elements that “inappropriately disparage past or living Americans.”

But Kelley disagreed, saying Trump’s order was just an excuse to erase the true history of the United States.

“History cannot be told faithfully by ignoring the experiences of the communities whose contributions, struggles, and accomplishments form an important part of our nation’s story,” Kelley wrote.

The judge also wrote that the Trump administration must submit a status report each week describing its progress with these changes. According to the order, the administration has 21 days to “restore and reinstall all interpretive materials in NPS-managed parklands that have been altered, removed, or damaged during this removal process since May 20, 2025, in accordance with the Secretary’s Order.”

The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed in February by conservation and historical organizations over National Park Service policies that the groups said forced park service staff to remove or censor dozens of exhibits that shared factually accurate and relevant U.S. history and scientific information, including slavery and climate change.

Most of the changes occurred at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park, where the administration removed exhibits about the lives of nine people enslaved in the 1790s under George Washington, the first U.S. president. Other changes included removing a sign identifying basalt bubbles at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Arizona because it featured a picture of a visitor holding a Pride flag, and films about labor history were removed from Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts.

Mr. Trump signed the executive order last year, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum later directed the removal of “inappropriate partisan ideology” from museums, monuments, landmarks and other public exhibits under federal control.

An email seeking comment was sent to the Home Office on Saturday.

Alan Spears, senior director of cultural resources for the National Parks Conservation Association, one of the organizations that filed the lawsuit, said the ruling would help protect national parks from the administration’s efforts to “erase the history and science of these one-of-a-kind places.”

“National parks belong to the American people, and any form of censorship is contrary to the values ​​these places represent,” he said.

Bill Wade, executive director of the National Park Rangers Association, another organization that filed the lawsuit, said this was especially good news for National Park workers who “pride themselves on providing accurate, accurate and unbiased information.”