‘That Is A Dangerous Statement’: Federal Judge Eviscerates DOJ Over Slavery Exhibit Takedown; Above The Law, February 2, 2026

Kathryn Rubino , Above The Law ; ‘That Is A Dangerous Statement’: Federal Judge Eviscerates DOJ Over Slavery Exhibit Takedown

"The Trump administration is trying to memory-hole slavery, and a federal judge is running out of patience with their shenanigans. 

At a hearing last week over the Trump administration’s decision to rip out materials discussing slavery at George Washington’s former Philadelphia residence Senior U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe — a George W. Bush appointee! — delivered a sharp rebuke to the DOJ lawyers defending the government’s actions. The exhibit in question, located on Independence Mall, was created by the City of Philadelphia in partnership with the National Park Service and tells the story of the nine enslaved people who lived and labored in Washington’s home. Earlier this year, federal workers reportedly took a crowbar to the plaques, citing President Donald Trump’s executive order purporting to “restore truth and sanity to American history.” But let’s be so fucking for real right now, it’s a literal whitewashing of it.

Judge Rufe was not impressed. “You can’t erase history once you’ve learned it,” she said. “It doesn’t work that way.” That theme only sharpened as the hearing went on. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory in den Berken attempted to defend the removals by gesturing vaguely at disagreement and discretion. “Although many people feel strongly about this one way, other people may disagree or feel strongly another way,” he said, adding, “Ultimately, the government gets to choose the message it wants to convey.”

Danger, Will Robinson. Though appearing before a Republican-appointed judge, it does NOT mean they’re cool with the current administration’s we-get-to-rewrite-history plan. Judge Rufe cut off the AUSA, according to reports, saying, “That is a dangerous statement you are making. It is horrifying to listen to,” she said. “It changes on the whims of someone in charge? I’m sorry, that is not what we elected anybody for.”...

At present, the government has stripped the site of all substantive discussion of the enslaved people who lived there, leaving only their names — Austin, Paris, Hercules, Christopher Sheels, Richmond, Giles, Oney Judge, Moll, and Joe — engraved into a cement wall. Plaintiffs are asking the court to order the exhibit restored, and Judge Rufe instructed DOJ to ensure that the remaining materials are not damaged any further, and she intends to personally inspect the removed materials. She also indicated she intends to rule swiftly, particularly with the nation’s 250th birthday celebration looming and a surge of visitors expected at Independence Mall."

Judge Bars Further Changes to George Washington’s Philadelphia House; The New York Times, February 2, 2026

Mattathias Schwartz, The New York Times; Judge Bars Further Changes to George Washington’s Philadelphia House

The Interior Department removed placards and videos about Washington’s involvement with slavery. A new court ruling blocks further changes, for now.

"A federal judge in Philadelphia ordered the National Park Service not to make further changes to the President’s House Site, where George Washington lived as the head of the fledgling U.S. government, as she considers a lawsuit filed by the City of Philadelphia.

At a daylong hearing on Friday, the city argued that the Park Service was obliged to restore plaques and videos commemorating nine enslaved people who served Washington’s household on the site. Those items were removed by the Trump administration as part of a broader effort to use its control of the park system to reframe American history by eliminating materials that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”

Judge Cynthia M. Rufe, who was appointed by President George W. Bush to Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, expressed deep skepticism about President Trump’s effort on Friday. She called its purported legal basis “cavalier” and the prospect of further changes “frightening.”

On Monday, according to the case docket, she inspected the removed displays, which the government has said are being held in storage at the National Constitution Center. Judge Rufe’s Monday order stops short of mandating that the displays be put back up, as the city requested...

The case before Judge Rufe turns on whether the Interior Department, which includes the Park Service, was obliged to consult with the city before removing the slavery-related materials. Those kinds of consultations took place when Independence National Historical Park was first created and during years of planning for the slavery memorial at the President’s House leading up to its 2010 dedication. The city argues that while the site is Park Service property, some portions of a decades-long series of agreements between the federal government and the city governing its operation remain in force.

Justice Department lawyers have argued that the city is trying to infringe on the federal government’s right to free speech in deciding how the history of the site should be described."

Faith leaders criticize Trump administration’s removal of Philadelphia slavery exhibit; Episcopal News Service (ENS), January 29, 2026

Adelle M. Banks, Episcopal News Service (ENS); Faith leaders criticize Trump administration’s removal of Philadelphia slavery exhibit

"Religious leaders are among those objecting to the National Park Service’s removal of a historic exhibit about slavery located steps away from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s Liberty Bell and that featured African Methodist Episcopal Church founder Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, the first Black priest in The Episcopal Church.

On Jan. 22, exhibit supporters and city officials learned that NPS staffers had removed panels from “The President’s House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation,” an exhibit that, according to a page on the park service’s website, examined “the paradox between slavery and freedom in the founding of the nation.” As of the afternoon of Jan. 28, the website said “Page not found” where that information previously had been.

The open-air exhibit, which opened in 2010, is located on the site where Presidents George Washington and John Adams lived in the 1790s and features a replica of the exterior of the dwelling and a wall with the names of the nine enslaved Africans Washington brought there.

Independence National Historical Park, which hosted the exhibit, was cited in a March 2025 executive order signed by President Donald Trump. Titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” the order directed the U.S. Department of the Interior to ensure that monuments at national sites “do not contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times), and instead focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.”

The Rev. Mark Tyler, historiographer for the AME Church and former pastor of Mother Bethel AME Church, which was founded by Allen and is within walking distance of the exhibit, said the loss of the panels is “a gut punch.”"

Philadelphia sues US government for removal of slavery-related exhibit; The Guardian, January 23, 2026

Marina Dunbar , The Guardian; Philadelphia sues US government for removal of slavery-related exhibit

"Philadelphia is taking legal action against the Trump administration following the National Park Service’s decision to dismantle a long-established slavery-related exhibit at Independence National Historical park, which holds the former residence of George Washington.

The city filed its lawsuit in federal court on Thursday, naming the US Department of Interior and its secretary, Doug Burgum, the National Park Service, and its acting director, Jessica Bowron, as defendants. The lawsuit seeks a court order requiring the exhibits to be restored while the case proceeds.

The display stood at the President’s House site, once home to George Washington and John Adams, and included information recognizing people enslaved by Washington, along with a broader chronology of slavery in the US...

The Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, sharply criticized the decision to take down the signs, arguing that Trump “will take any opportunity to rewrite and whitewash our history”

“But he picked the wrong city – and he sure as hell picked the wrong Commonwealth,” Shapiro added in a message posted on X. “We learn from our history in Pennsylvania, even when it’s painful.”...

Congress had encouraged the National Park Service in 2003 to formally acknowledge the enslaved people who lived and worked at the President’s House. The lawsuit states that in 2006, the city and the agency agreed to collaborate on creating an exhibit for the site, which opened in 2010 with a memorial and informational panels focused on slavery.

The removal of the exhibit is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to eliminate cultural content that does not align with his policy agenda."