A US judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration must reinstall a museum exhibit about slavery at the Presidents House in Philadelphia.

Judge Cynthia Rufe, a George W. Bush appointee for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, found that Department of the Interior violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by removing the slavery exhibit. The court ordered the Trump administration to reinstall the exhibit and stop any further removal efforts.

Philadelphia Councilmember Jamie Gauthier praised the decision, saying, “Black history is American history.”

The APA makes it unlawful for a government agency to act arbitrarily and capriciously, which includes disregarding relevant law. The relevant law in this case established Independence National Historical Park, of which the Presidents House is a part. The law gives the Secretary of the Interior authority to form agreements with cities to maintain the park.

Pursuant to this authority, the secretary formed a contract with the city of Philadelphia that requires city consent to make changes to the Presidents House. By failing to get city consent to remove the slavery exhibit, the court found the removal violated the APA.

The administration cited Executive Order 14253 as justification for the removal. The executive order, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, directed the Secretary of the Interior to remove memorials or monuments that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living…and instead focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.”

The court, however, stated that the order also required the secretary to comply with existing law, including the legislation pertaining to the Presidents House and contracts with Philadelphia. As such, the order did not provide a defense for the government.

Notably, the court’s opinion opened with a quote from George Orwell’s 1984. The court stated it was as if the Ministry of Truth–the fictional governing body in the book determining what knowledge is true–truly existed, with the government attempting to “dissemble and disassemble historical truths.”

The exhibit’s removal came against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to change US museums and memorials. The administration has reviewed Smithsonian museums and removed a display in the Netherlands regarding discrimination that WWII soldiers faced.

The Presidents House is the location where George Washington and John Adams lived and conducted their presidential duties. Some of Washington’s slaves lived at the house, but were often cycled in and out to avoid Pennsylvania law that established a freedom process for slaves. The Trump administration “removed panels, displays, and video exhibits that referenced slavery and information about the individuals enslaved at the President’s House,” according to the court.