A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to restore exhibits at national parks that had been removed or altered as part of the administration’s review of interpretive displays and historical content.
The content removed by the administration was installed during the Biden years and focused heavily on revisionist left-wing ideology, reports noted.
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U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley of Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction earlier this month ordering the Trump administration to restore the exhibits and halt any additional removals while the legal challenge proceeds.
Kelley, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Joe Biden in 2021, ruled that the administration must reverse the changes pending further court proceedings.
The decision comes as the nation marks the America 250 celebration, which is scheduled to culminate with Independence Day events on July 4.
The Interior Department in a statement called Kelley a “liberal activist judge” and said it was reviewing its options to appeal its removal of what Secretary Doug Burgum criticized as “improper partisan ideology.”
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“This ruling is from a liberal activist judge,” an Interior spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“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,” the spokesperson added.
Trump’s March 27, 2025 executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” aims to restore true American heritage to national parks and monuments that were “changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history” following race-fueled riots in 2020.
Trump ordered Interior to “take action, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law,” to ensure that all U.S. government descriptions and depictions do not “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living” – instead putting “focus on the greatness” of America.
Judge Kelly did not clarify why Biden’s administration had the authority to make changes to the displays but Trump’s administration doesn’t.
She did claim in her ruling, however, that plaintiffs had demonstrated that the Trump administration’s actions were meant “to rewrite the Nation’s history with a white-out pen.”
It’s not clear how she arrived at that conclusion based on the law rather than her own opinion.
Trump, meanwhile, said he had issued the order because of the “false reconstruction” of U.S. history under Biden.
Kelly wrote in her ruling that removing language that disparages Americans while emphasizing the greatness of the country somehow sets a “dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization.”
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Kelley also directed the administration to submit weekly status reports to the court outlining its progress in restoring the exhibits and other affected materials.
According to the lawsuit, the Interior Department under Burgum removed or altered several displays, including an exhibit at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia discussing George Washington’s ownership of enslaved people and signage at Fort Sumter National Monument in South Carolina addressing the effects of climate change.
“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 – who is no historian – wrote.
Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to work toward what the administration described as “restoring truth and sanity to American history” at the nation’s museums, parks and historic landmarks.
Following the order, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum instructed the department to review and remove what he described as “improper partisan ideology” from museums, monuments, historic sites and other public exhibits managed by the federal government.
“Museums in our nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,” said Trump’s executive order.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
