肯尼迪艺术中心未能在法庭最后期限前拆除特朗普姓名标识Kennedy Center Misses Court Deadline to Remove Trump Name From Facade

在星期五最后期限临近之际，法律层面的博弈迅速展开。首先，联邦地区法院法官克里斯托弗·库珀拒绝了政府暂缓执行其禁令的请求。库珀法官指出，政府未能证明其在上诉中取得成功的可能性，也无法证明不暂停执行将遭受不可挽回的损失。随后，肯尼迪艺术中心董事会向哥伦比亚特区联邦巡回上诉法院提出紧急动议，申请在正式上诉审理期间暂缓执行该命令，并要求在星期五晚上7点前发布临时行政中止令，理由是建筑物的物理变更不应在 appellate 审判前进行。

As the Friday deadline approached, a rapid sequence of legal challenges unfolded. First, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper denied the administration's request for a stay of his injunction, ruling that the government had failed to demonstrate either a likelihood of success on appeal or that it would suffer irreparable harm. Following this decision, the Kennedy Center's board of trustees filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, seeking a stay pending appeal and requesting an immediate administrative stay by 7:00 p.m. Friday, arguing that physical alterations to the building should not occur before appellate review.

然而，上诉法院的三人法官小组在数小时后驳回了这一紧急申请，拒绝在案件审理期间暂停执行地区法院的命令。该上诉法官小组由特朗普任命的法官格雷戈里·卡察斯，以及奥巴马任命的法官帕特里夏·米利特和罗伯特·威尔金斯组成。他们在简短且未署名的裁决中并未详细阐述其决定的具体理由。这一裁决意味着库珀法官设定的星期五深夜11点59分的最后期限依然具有法律效力，政府和肯尼迪中心董事会通过司法途径推迟拆除标识的最后尝试宣告失败。

Hours later, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the emergency motion, declining to temporarily block enforcement of the lower court's order. The panel, consisting of Judge Gregory Katsas, an appointee of Donald Trump, and Judges Patricia Millett and Robert Wilkins, both appointees of Barack Obama, did not explain its reasoning in the brief, unsigned ruling. The decision left Judge Cooper's Friday 11:59 p.m. compliance deadline firmly in place, exhausting the administration's immediate legal avenues to delay the removal.

在司法途径受阻后，肯尼迪艺术中心面临着在星期五深夜11点59分前拆除特朗普总统姓名标识的最后期限。然而，华盛顿特区在星期五晚间遭遇了雷雨天气，给户外高空作业的施工人员带来了严重的安全隐患。根据美联社现场记者的报道，施工现场的工人们一度不得不暂停手中的工作，在现场等待降雨停止后才能重新开工。这一天气状况直接导致拆除进度受阻，肯尼迪中心因此未能赶在法庭规定的午夜截止日期前完成全部拆除工作。

Following the exhaustion of legal remedies, the Kennedy Center faced a strict court-ordered deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Friday to remove President Donald Trump's name from its facade. However, severe thunderstorms in the Washington, D.C. area on Friday evening created significant safety hazards for the crews working on the exterior of the building. According to onsite reports, construction workers were forced to temporarily halt their operations and wait for the rain to stop before they could safely resume their tasks, directly causing the venue to miss the midnight deadline.

针对这一延误，司法部律师代表肯尼迪中心向联邦地区法院提交了法庭文件，解释称虽然拆除工作一直在持续进行，但由于雷雨天气引发的安全担忧导致了工作延期。肯尼迪中心执行主任马修·弗洛卡在法庭声明中表示，施工队伍预计将在星期六（6月13日）清晨完成全部拆除工作。为此，该机构已向法庭申请额外的时间，以正式向法官克里斯托弗·库珀汇报并证明其已完全履行了拆除指令。

In response to the delay, Justice Department attorneys representing the performing arts venue submitted court filings explaining that while the removal effort remained ongoing, the severe weather had hindered progress. Kennedy Center Executive Director Matthew Floca stated in a court declaration that crews expected to fully wrap up the work in the early hours of Saturday, June 13. Consequently, the center requested additional time from U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper to officially certify its compliance with the court's removal directive.

在星期五下午，工人们便开始在肯尼迪艺术中心大楼外搭建脚手架，为拆除特朗普总统姓名的标识做准备。随着夜幕降临，施工队伍在黑暗中继续进行脚手架的组装工作。到了星期六凌晨2点前不久，现场工人开始用遮光布围挡在脚手架周围，这在实际上阻挡了外界对其施工进度的视线。尽管天气恶劣，现场的施工和准备工作依然在持续进行。

On Friday afternoon, construction crews began erecting scaffolding outside the Kennedy Center to prepare for the removal of President Donald Trump's name from the facade. Workers continued assembling the scaffolding in the dark as night fell. Shortly before 2:00 a.m. on Saturday, crews began to drape a covering around the scaffolding, which essentially blocked the public view of their ongoing progress on the exterior signage.

与此同时，肯尼迪中心外聚集了大量围观民众和抗议者。一些支持者在附近聚集，而抗议者们则挥舞着美国国旗和各式标语。在午夜最后期限过去、标识仍未拆除时，聚集在下方的民众高喊着“拆掉它”的口号。随后，当工人们在凌晨开始用遮光布围挡脚手架时，现场人群中又爆发出了“可耻”的喊声，现场气氛在风雨中显得格外焦灼。

The construction site attracted a crowd of onlookers, supporters, and protesters who gathered nearby despite the stormy weather. Some demonstrators waved U.S. flags and signs as the work proceeded. Around midnight, with the president's name still visible on the building, members of the crowd chanted "take it down." Later, as workers began draping the protective coverings over the scaffolding in the early morning hours, onlookers below reacted by chanting "Shame!"

在向法院提交的诉讼材料中，司法部与肯尼迪艺术中心董事会阐明了其反对立即拆除标识的核心理由。司法部助理总检察长布雷特·舒梅特在申请暂缓执行的动议中指出，在正式上诉结果出炉前，强行改变肯尼迪中心的名称和标识是极不合理的。他强调，如果政府在随后的正式上诉中获得成功，该中心将不得不再次将标识恢复原状，这种反复修改标识的做法在行政和实际操作上都缺乏合理性。

In court filings, the Justice Department and the Kennedy Center's board detailed their core arguments against the immediate removal of the signage. Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate wrote in the government's motion for a stay that altering the performing arts venue's name and physical signage prematurely made little sense. Shumate argued that it was illogical to force these physical changes now, only to potentially revert the name back again after what the administration anticipated would be a successful appeal of the lower court's ruling.

尽管联邦地区法院和上诉法院相继驳回了紧急暂缓执行的申请，但这一法律争端并未就此终结。哥伦比亚特区联邦巡回上诉法院的三人法官小组在裁决中明确保留了法律余地。法院指出，如果司法部在后续针对地区法院判决的正式上诉中最终获胜，特朗普总统的名字未来仍有可能被重新添加回这座地标性建筑的外立面上。这意味着，目前的拆除工作可能只是暂时的，最终的命名权归属仍有待上诉法庭的后续审理决定。

Although the courts rejected the immediate requests to halt the order, the legal battle over the landmark's name remains unresolved. The three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals explicitly left open the possibility for the administration to restore President Donald Trump's name to the facade in the future. If the Department of Justice succeeds in its ongoing formal appeal of the district court's decision, the venue may legally add the name back, leaving the ultimate fate of the building's branding to be decided by the appellate court's final ruling.