A coalition of conservation, science and history groups has sued the Trump administration in federal court in Boston, arguing that a government-wide review tied to President Donald Trump’s executive order on “restoring truth and sanity to American history” is leading the National Park Service to remove or change displays about slavery, civil rights, Indigenous history and climate science. In a separate case, LGBTQ+ advocates have challenged the removal of a rainbow Pride flag from Stonewall National Monument in New York after new Interior Department guidance on non-agency flags.
Conservation, science and history organizations filed suit Tuesday in federal court in Boston, arguing that recent Trump administration directives are prompting the National Park Service to remove or revise interpretive materials at national parks and historic sites.
The complaint cites President Donald Trump’s March 2025 executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which directs federal agencies overseeing museums, parks and landmarks to ensure they do not include elements that, in the government’s view, “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.” It also points to follow-on guidance from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directing the removal of what he called “improper partisan ideology” from federally controlled exhibits.
The groups say a federal review campaign has accelerated in recent weeks and has led to the removal or alteration of exhibits and other materials that address slavery and enslavement, civil rights, the treatment of Indigenous peoples and climate science.
The coalition behind the Boston suit includes the National Parks Conservation Association, the American Association for State and Local History, the Association of National Park Rangers, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Alan Spears, a senior director at the National Parks Conservation Association, said in a statement that the lawsuit was aimed at stopping what he described as censorship of science and history in national parks.
The broader conflict has also played out in Philadelphia, where the city sued the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Park Service after slavery-focused exhibits were removed at the President’s House site within Independence National Historical Park. The displays documented the lives of nine enslaved people held by George and Martha Washington while Washington lived in Philadelphia, then the nation’s capital.
Separately, LGBTQ+ advocates and local officials have objected to the removal of a rainbow Pride flag from a flagpole at Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. The National Park Service has said the change reflects guidance clarifying longstanding policy: a Jan. 21 memo largely limits flagpoles at NPS sites to the U.S. flag, Interior Department and agency flags, and the POW/MIA flag, with some exceptions. Supporters of keeping the flag up argue the banner provides historical context at a site commemorating a pivotal moment in the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
In response to the Boston lawsuit, the White House has described the claims as premature while the administration’s review continues, according to reporting on the case. Democracy Forward, which is involved in the litigation, has said the government cannot tell the story of the United States without acknowledging both the country’s achievements and its tragedies.
