Judge orders restoration of removed national park exhibits

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore exhibits and educational materials removed from national parks and monuments across the country, ruling that the effort amounted to an attempt to rewrite American history. The preliminary injunction, issued on Friday, June 12, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Massachusetts, halts further changes and requires the Interior Department to reinstall the removed materials within 21 days.

The order stems from a lawsuit filed in February by a coalition of conservation and historical organizations, including the National Parks Conservation Association and the Association of National Park Rangers. The groups argued that National Park Service policies, enacted under a 2025 executive order, forced staff to remove or censor dozens of exhibits containing what they described as factually accurate history and scientific information. The targeted content included displays related to slavery, climate change, Indigenous history, and labor movements.

In her ruling, Judge Kelley wrote that the plaintiffs had shown these efforts were meant to rewrite the nation's history with a whiteout pen. She stated that history cannot be...