Federal Judge Forces Return of Divisive Exhibits to National Parks
A Boston federal judge has issued an injunction mandating the Interior Department to reinstall controversial signs and exhibits on slavery and climate change, which had been removed under a Trump administration order aimed at stopping anti-American revisionism.
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U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Boston granted a preliminary injunction on Friday, compelling the Interior Department to restore exhibits and signage that had been removed from national parks and monuments across the United States. The order is the result of a lawsuit brought by the National Parks Conservation Association, the American Association for State and Local History, and four other groups representing conservationists, historians, and scientists who have long pushed for a left-leaning narrative in public spaces.
The plaintiffs claim that the department’s policy of removing displays on topics like slavery and climate change violated congressional statutes governing more than 430 park sites and lacked sufficient justification.
Judge Kelley argued that the removal “undermines the integrity of the National Parks” and sets “a dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization.” She ordered the signs be reinstated within 21 days, ahead of the parks’ 250th anniversary, to “properly honor the remarkable achievements of the United States”—though critics argue that these exhibits promote a negative and divisive view of American history.
The policy was based on an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in March 2025, which directed the department to address what the administration described as a “revisionist movement” that unfairly portrayed the United States as “inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed.” An Interior Department spokesperson previously said the rule required parks to “tell the full and accurate story of American history,” ensuring that patriotic values and pride are not undermined by one-sided narratives.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs and an Interior Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
