Department of the Interior appeals order to restore slavery exhibits at President's House site

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The federal government is appealing a judge's order to restore interpretive panels telling stories of people who were enslaved at the President's House site in Philadelphia.

The Department of the Interior said in a statement that it disagrees with the ruling and filed an appeal on Monday night.

"If not for this unnecessary judicial intervention, updated interpretive materials providing a fuller account of the history of slavery at Independence Hall would have been installed in the coming days," the statement reads.

Earlier Monday, Federal District Judge Cynthia Rufe sided with city officials and advocacy groups who argued that removing the displays erased the history of enslaved people held by George Washington.

Rufe ordered that the panels be reinstalled and that the President's House be restored to its appearance before Jan. 22, the day the displays were removed following an executive order from the Trump administration.