Federal Judge Rules Trump's Name Was Illegally Added to Kennedy Center, Must Remove Within Two Weeks

A federal judge has ruled that Donald Trump’s name was illegally added to Washington, D.C.’s John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts last year, and the president’s name must be removed within two weeks.

U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper ordered the ruling on Friday, May 29, noting that the Kennedy Center board violated the law when they added Trump’s name to the venue’s exterior, as well as its website and marketing materials. Cooper pointed to a 1964 law that named the national cultural center after the recently assassinated President John F. Kennedy.

The Obama-appointed judge wrote on Friday that Trump’s administration must “remove all physical signage on the Kennedy Center building and grounds, including the front portico, that purports to rename the Kennedy Center after President Trump or any other individual besides President Kennedy” within two weeks. The administration also was ordered to remove the center’s website and other material that references the attempted renaming of the center to “The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

Additionally, officials at the center must also submit a sworn declaration that they are complying with the order.

Roma Daravi, Kennedy Center vice president of public relations, told The Associated Press in a statement that the center is “confident that an appeal the court will uphold the Board’s will to recognize President Trump’s historic contributions to our nation’s cultural center.”

“We remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy,” Daravi said.

Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat on the board of trustees who said she was prevented from voting against the name change which led to a unanimous approval, told PEOPLE that “today’s ruling rightly affirms that this administration’s efforts to rename and close the Center have no basis in law.”

“The Kennedy Center is an institution that belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump,” Beatty said. “He has desecrated this sacred memorial for his own vanity.”

Since Trump took over the center — installing himself as chairman, firing the president to replace with a longtime loyalist, and changing the name — the venue has faced a slew of cancellations. Nearly 20 acts have cancelled performances at the venue, with many citing worries of the venue’s direction under Trump’s leadership. Then, Trump announced the venue would close for two years to undergo renovations.

Despite its closure, set to take place on July 4, former Kennedy Center president Ric Grenell previously assured that the annual Kennedy Center Honors would still move forward. The program, dubbed “The Trump Kennedy Center Honors” will commence at an outside, smaller venue, though no further details have been announced at this time.