A federal judge in Philadelphia sharply rebuked Justice Department lawyers during a hearing tied to the abrupt removal of an outdoor exhibit about slavery at Independence Mall, warning that the government’s position on what history it must display amounted to dangerous overreach. Senior U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe said the lawyers’ arguments about whether the Trump administration can decide what parts of American history are shown at National Park Service sites were “dangerous” and “horrifying.”
The dispute unfolded in a courthouse hearing over what happened this month after workers removed plaques, panels and other outdoor materials associated with the exhibit at the former Washington home site on Independence Mall. Rufe heard testimony that the city had previously worked in tandem with the park service on the exhibit about two decades ago and that some of the slavery-related history had been unearthed only in the past quarter-century.
Rufe told the lawyers, “You can’t erase history once you’ve learned it,” and later pressed them on the implications of their stance that the government could control the historical message at National Park Service sites. She cut off Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory in den Berken after he argued that “the government gets to choose the message it wants to convey,” calling the statement “a dangerous statement you are making” and “horrifying to listen to.”
Rufe said she planned to visit both the storage area where removed exhibit materials are being kept and the Independence Mall site before issuing a ruling on the city’s request to have the exhibit restored. She also asked the Justice Department lawyers to ensure that nothing else is disturbed while the request is pending. At the hearing, Rufe also noted a surge of visitors expected to visit the nation’s birthplace this year to mark its 250th anniversary of being founded.
In den Berken argued that the Park Service routinely changes exhibits and tours and contended that the government could not be forced to tell a particular story. Lawyers for the city and other advocates pushed back, saying the Park Service does not have “carte blanche” to interpret the nation’s history as it sees fit.
The exhibit centered on biographical information about nine people enslaved by George and Martha Washington at the presidential mansion, according to the details described in testimony. The materials that were removed included plaques and panels tied to those biographies, while only the names of the nine people—Austin, Paris, Hercules, Christopher Sheels, Richmond, Giles, Oney Judge, Moll and Joe—remained engraved into a cement wall.
Michael Coard, an attorney representing one of the advocacy groups supporting the exhibit, described the Trump administration’s actions as ignoring the power of Congress, the judiciary and the American people. In the hearing, Coard said it was “absolutely frightening” to send lawyers into a public courtroom to make what he characterized as a dictatorial argument, adding that he was “really worried about the state of America.”
For residents who had visited the site, the removal drew visible grief and protest, including people leaving flowers and a handmade sign reading “Slavery was real.” The case, as argued in the courtroom, turns on whether the government can keep removing slavery-related materials and whether the exhibit can be restored while the legal challenge plays out.