A US district court judge has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate history and science materials removed from national parks under a 2025 executive order, ruling that the actions constituted censorship. Judge Angel Kelley of Massachusetts gave officials 21 days to comply, condemning the administration for 'telling half-truths'.
The executive order, titled 'restoring truth and sanity to American history', directed the interior secretary to review monuments and memorials for alterations made after January 2020 that represented a 'false construction of American history'. This led to the removal of signage referencing slavery, civil rights, Indigenous history and climate change.
Conservation groups including the National Parks Conservation Association and the Association of National Park Rangers filed a lawsuit in February. Judge Kelley sided with them, writing that the administration sought to share 'a limited history' by removing displays that did not align with its preferred narrative.
Alan Spears of the NPCA said: 'Americans count on national parks to help us understand our full, rich history. Stories of triumph and tragedy alike deserve to be told out loud at parks.' Emily Thompson of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks added that parks 'exist to preserve and interpret the full American story'.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
