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

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to undo changes made to national parks and museums, ruling that the efforts to rewrite American history must be reversed. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley issued a preliminary injunction Friday, calling for the administration to restore alterations already made at sites nationwide and to halt any further modifications.

Kelley stated that the plaintiffs had demonstrated these actions were intended "to rewrite the Nation's history with a white-out pen." She wrote that under the pretense of promoting American dignity, the administration sought to present a selective history by removing exhibits that did not align with its preferred narrative, thereby conveying only half-truths. The judge countered that the executive order, "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," issued in March 2025, served as a pretext to erase genuine historical accounts.

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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.

"History cannot be faithfully told while excluding the experiences of communities whose contributions, struggles, and achievements form an important part of our Nation's story," Kelley wrote. The administration is required to provide a weekly status report detailing their progress in restoring the interpretive materials. Furthermore, the order mandates that within 21 days, all materials at National Park Service sites that were altered, removed, or damaged since May 20, 2025, must be reinstated.

The lawsuit, filed in February by conservation and historical organizations, challenged National Park Service policies that allegedly compelled staff to remove or censor exhibits presenting accurate U.S. history and scientific knowledge, including topics like slavery and climate change. Notable examples include the removal of exhibits on enslaved individuals at Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park and the deletion of a sign at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Arizona that featured an image of a visitor holding a Pride flag. Films on labor history were also removed from Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts.

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History cannot be faithfully told while excluding the experiences of communities whose contributions, struggles, and achievements form an important part of our Nation's story.