A federal judge issued a temporary block on the National Park Service’s efforts to remove or alter signage, films, and exhibits in national parks following a directive from former President Trump. This decision came as a measure against enforcement of an executive order aiming to eliminate park materials considered to portray the United States negatively.
Judge Angel Kelley from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that the Park Service must restore any dismantled or modified exhibits within three weeks. This ruling provides a temporary relief for advocacy groups that filed a lawsuit against the executive order in February. The litigation on this matter is ongoing.
The directive had led to the removal of educational plaques and signs across various national parks. Notably, plaques discussing slavery at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, climate change at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, and Indigenous history at Acadia National Park in Maine were taken down. Meanwhile, a separate lawsuit by Philadelphia resulted in a federal judge’s order preventing changes to the slavery exhibit at the President’s House Site in Independence National Historical Park.
The advocacy groups continue to argue that the removals amount to censorship. The court’s decision offers a temporary halt to the enforcement of changes while the issue is still under legal examination.