Key facts
- A U.S. appeals court has lifted a lower court's order to reinstall exhibits on slavery and climate change in national parks.
- The exhibits were removed by the Trump administration under an executive order targeting displays that "inappropriately disparage Americans."
- The original order was issued by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley.
- The appeals court's decision allows the administration to avoid reinstalling the removed displays.
A U.S. appeals court on Thursday lifted a judge's order that had required the Trump administration to reinstall dozens of exhibits on topics such as slavery and climate change in national parks. The exhibits were removed under a directive from President Donald Trump targeting displays that "inappropriately disparage Americans past or living."
U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley had previously ordered the National Park Service to restore the signs within 21 days, arguing that their removal undermined "the integrity of the National Parks" and set a "dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization."
Trump's March 2025 executive order aimed to counter what he called a "revisionist movement" that portrayed the U.S. negatively. Plaintiffs, including park conservationists and historians, contended that the Interior Department's actions constituted a "sustained campaign to erase history and undermine science" and violated congressional mandates for park operations.