A judge accused the U.S. government of trying to rewrite history by removing an exhibition in Philadelphia.
Published: February 17, 2026
A U.S. judge has ordered the National Park Service (NPS) to restore exhibits of approximately nine people enslaved by former President George Washington at a historic site in Philadelphia.
The ruling comes after Philadelphia sued Donald Trump’s administration over the city’s removal of several interpretive panels at Independence National Historical Park, where Washington lived with his wife in the 1790s.
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This demolition was in response to President Trump’s executive order to restore the ‘truth and integrity of American history’ in American museums, parks, and landmarks. The report directed the Interior Department to ensure that the site does not display elements that “inappropriately denigrate Americans, past or present.”
U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe ruled that all materials must be restored to their original state pending litigation over the legality of their removal. She banned Trump officials from installing replacements that tell history differently.
In a scathing 40-page ruling, Rupee accused the federal government of trying to erase American history, much like the fictional authoritarian regime that ruled George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984.
“Just as there was a Department of Truth in George Orwell’s 1984 with the motto ‘ignorance is power,’ now this court is being asked to determine whether the federal government has the power to dismantle and dismantle historical truth when it has a domain over historical facts,” Rufe wrote. “Not really.”
Roof warned Trump administration lawyers at a hearing in January that they were making “dangerous” and “appalling” statements when they told government officials they could choose which parts of American history to display on NPS sites.
The Trump administration had no immediate comment.
The historic site is one of several where the Trump administration has quietly removed content about slavery and Native American history. This included a sign at Grand Canyon National Park that said settlers “removed” Native American tribes “from their lands” to build the park and “exploited” the terrain for mining and grazing.
Trump’s order also led to the restoration of Confederate statues and other actions that civil rights advocates say could reverse decades of social progress and undermine recognition of a critical stage in American history.
The Philadelphia exhibit, created 20 years ago through a collaboration between city and federal officials, included biographical details about each of the nine people Washington’s family enslaved in their home, including two who escaped.
Several local politicians and black community leaders celebrated the ruling, and many were rallying at the site to support restoration.
“The community has won against the Trump administration’s attempts to whitewash our history,” said state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, a Philadelphia Democrat.
“The Philadelphians fought back, and I couldn’t be more proud of the way we came together,” he said.
State Rep. Brendan Boyle, who represents Philadelphia, also welcomed the ruling.
“I’m proud of our country and our founding ideals, and that means we tell the full truth about our history – the good and the bad,” he said.
