Story perspectives

Judge Orders Trump's Kennedy Center Name Removal, Blocks Closure

6/13/2026

Summary

Story summary

Scaffolding surrounded the Trump signage as onlookers chanted for its removal.
Judge Christopher Cooper denied the Kennedy Center board’s stay request, ordering removal of U.S. President Donald Trump’s name from the exterior.
Kennedy Center board filed a late-night motion seeking a stay of the removal order.
Rep. Joyce Beatty’s lawsuit that prompted the ruling was called frivolous, prompting Judge Christopher Cooper to block the center’s planned two-year closure pending review.

History

Historical Context

In 2000, after Governor David Beasley reversed his support in 1996, the South Carolina legislature voted 68-30 to move the Confederate battle flag from the State House dome to a pole on the grounds, a change enabled by the 2000 Heritage Act. The flag stayed until Governor Nikki Haley ordered its July 10 2015 removal after the Charleston church shooting, a precedent for disputes over public symbols.

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Story summary

Scaffolding surrounded the Trump signage as onlookers chanted for its removal.
Judge Christopher Cooper denied the Kennedy Center board’s stay request, ordering removal of U.S. President Donald Trump’s name from the exterior.
Kennedy Center board filed a late-night motion seeking a stay of the removal order.
Rep. Joyce Beatty’s lawsuit that prompted the ruling was called frivolous, prompting Judge Christopher Cooper to block the center’s planned two-year closure pending review.

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