Appeals court reverses order requiring removed signs to be restored at National Park sites

Appeals court reverses order requiring removed signs to be restored at National Park sites

A federal appeals court reversed a lower court's order requiring the National Park Service (NPS) to restore signs and exhibits that were removed by the Trump administration.

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday halted the ruling, which would have restored park materials that the administration says were purged as part of the administration's effort to get rid of materials that "disparage" Americans.

The judges determined that the Trump administration "made a strong showing that the harms that the district court relied on" to order the restoration of the materials did not meet the standards for an injunction.

Judges David Barron, Gustavo Gelpi and Julie Rikelman also found that the groups suing the government "cannot show that a stay of the district court's order ... would cause them substantial injury." Barron was appointed by former President Obama, while Gelpi and Rikelman are appointees of former President Biden.

The Trump administration last year directed NPS units to review all public-facing content for messaging that disparages Americans or that "emphasizes matters unrelated to the beauty, abundance, or grandeur" of natural features.

This led to the removal of dozens of materials such as signs, exhibits and films, including an "African American Civil War Memorial wayside" at the National Mall.

In response to Thursday's ruling, Democracy Forward, which is representing groups that sued the department, said it was disappointed, but it also described the ruling as only a procedural setback in the case.

"While we are disappointed by this decision, we also recognize the simple fact that this is merely a temporary procedural setback. The First Circuit did not condone the Trump-Vance administration's censorship or issue any ruling on whether its actions are lawful," said Brooke Menschel, the group's senior counsel, in a statement.

"Our national parks are places of learning, reflection, and truth - not political messaging, but the administration has politicized them through censorship."