A federal judge in the United States has ordered the Trump administration to restore all signs and exhibits removed or altered at national parks under President Donald Trump’s controversial directive on American history.
In a strongly worded 63-page ruling issued Friday, Judge Angel Kelley wrote, “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 was appointed by former President Joe Biden, directed that all removed materials be restored by July 3 ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
She also barred the administration from carrying out any additional changes to exhibits at national parks.
Responding on Saturday, an Interior Department spokesperson described Kelley as “a liberal activist judge” and indicated that the government could challenge the decision in court.
“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 statement read.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed in February by a coalition of conservation and advocacy groups against the Interior Department and the National Park Service. The groups accused the administration of “mounting a sustained campaign to erase history and undermine science.”
Trump had signed an executive order in March 2025 titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” directing the Interior Department to act against public materials that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”
According to advocacy group Save Our Signs, at least 45 displays covering issues such as climate change and Native American history were modified under the policy.
Among the examples highlighted in the lawsuit was the removal of a marker at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming that referenced explorer Gustavus Cheyney Doane’s involvement in the massacre of at least 173 Piegan Blackfeet people in the 19th century.
At Fort Sumter National Monument in South Carolina, officials also removed a sign warning that climate change and rising sea levels could threaten the historic site.
Alan Spears, senior director for cultural resources at the National Parks Conservation Association, welcomed the ruling and called it “a big damn deal” in comments to CNN.
“This is, we think, a good, favorable, just ruling from the judge that puts a stop, at least temporarily, to the sanitization, censorship and softening of history as it’s told in our national parks,” Spears said.
He added that the decision would allow visitors to once again receive “the full scope of American history from our national parks and the interpretation that our parks provide.”
Spears described national parks as “one of the largest stewards of American history and culture in the country.”
“So when you start messing around with the kind of interpretation that the park service is able to provide, that’s a problem because they’ve been working throughout their history, but specifically over the last 30 years, to tell stories that are more accurate, more just, and more inclusive, so that we can inspire more people to care about our parks, to care about the history of this country … and to become better stewards of the land,” Spears added.
Kelley also emphasized the educational importance of national parks in her ruling, calling them “a cornerstone of public learning.”
“Often referred to as ‘America’s largest classroom,’ National Parks serve in that spirit by telling the stories both of those who write history and those who go unheard,” Kelley wrote. “The beauty of history is the unvarnished storytelling of a time gone by and the delivery of undeniable truths.”
She added, “The Government’s stewardship of these park sites thus carries a responsibility to present history in full rather than in favored fragments. Unfortunately, the Government has disregarded these principles.”
