Conservation Groups Sue Trump Administration Over Censored History and Pride Flag Removal at National Parks
February 18, 2026
Conservation and historical groups sued the Trump administration on Tuesday. They say National Park Service policies erase history and science from national parks. The lawsuit, filed in Boston, claims orders from Donald Trump and interior secretary Doug Burgum forced staff to remove or censor exhibits. These exhibits shared true US history and science, including topics like slavery and climate change.
At the same time, LGBTQ+ advocates sued over the removal of a rainbow Pride flag from the Stonewall national monument in New York. Stonewall is a key site in the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
The changes followed a Trump executive order aiming to "restore truth and sanity to American history." It said sites should not show things that "inappropriately disparage Americans past or living." Burgum ordered removing "improper partisan ideology" from public exhibits.
The lawsuit claims many exhibits were taken down recently. This includes displays about slavery, civil rights, Indigenous peoples, and climate science. Groups behind the suit include the National Parks Conservation Association, American Association for State and Local History, Association of National Park Rangers, and Union of Concerned Scientists.
A federal judge ordered that an exhibit about nine people enslaved by George Washington must be restored in Philadelphia. The exhibit was removed last month from Independence national historical park. The judge said the displays must be back by Presidents’ Day.
Other exhibits removed or flagged for removal include items at the Selma to Montgomery trail in Alabama and the Brown v Board of Education park in Kansas. At Grand Canyon park, signs mentioning Native Americans being pushed off their land vanished. At Glacier park, materials about climate change and melting glaciers were removed.
Alan Spears, senior director at the parks conservation association, said, "Censoring science and erasing America’s history at national parks are direct threats to everything these amazing places, and our country, stand for." He added, "As Americans, we deserve national parks that tell stories of our country’s triumphs and heartbreaks alike. We can handle the truth."
The Interior Department said it appealed the court ruling on the Philadelphia case. A spokesperson said updated materials on slavery history would be installed soon without the court order. White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers called the lawsuit "premature and based on inaccurate and mischaracterized information." She said the review is ongoing.
Judge Cynthia Rufe ruled all materials in Philadelphia must be restored as the legal fight continues. She compared the Trump administration’s actions to Orwell’s "Ministry of Truth," which altered history to fit its story.
The lawsuit about the Stonewall Pride flag calls its removal "the latest example in a long line of efforts by the Trump administration to target the LGBTQ+ community for discrimination and opprobrium." The flag was the first permanent rainbow banner on federal land, placed in 2022. The park service removed it citing a memo that limits flags mostly to official government ones. The suit argues the Pride flag gave important "historical context." Other flags, including Confederate ones, remain to help explain history.
New York officials and activists raised a new Pride flag at Stonewall on Thursday. The Interior Department criticized New York leaders, who are not part of the suit.
Jeff Mow, former superintendent at Glacier park, said the park service prides itself on truthful research. He called Trump’s order a "disservice" that makes it hard to tell America’s full story.
Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, which filed the lawsuit, said, "You cannot tell the story of America without recognizing both the beauty and the tragedy of our history."
Read More at Theguardian →
Tags:
National Park Service
Trump administration
Slavery History
Climate change
Stonewall Pride Flag
Lawsuit
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