Judge says Donald Trump can’t demolish Kennedy Center without giving Congress 30-day notice

A judge says President Donald Trump can’t tear down the John. F. Kennedy Center without giving Congress a month’s notice.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who in May ordered Trump’s name be taken down from the Washington performance venue, ruled on Thursday that neither Trump nor the Kennedy Center board of trustees has the authority to implement a reconstruction plan. The judge specifically made clear his order included “demolition” of the center, which was named in memory of a slain president.

The unusual order came after Trump was spotted reviewing a poster on Air Force One that seemed to read “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED” and after the trustee board, which is dominated by Trump appointees after a takeover last year, voted to shutter the center for reconstruction earlier this week. Meanwhile, construction crews started putting metal fencing around the building and forklifts were spotted at the site.

Related: Is Donald Trump getting ready to demolish the Kennedy Center?

Courts have intervened thanks to a lawsuit from Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, who serves on the board. Trump reportedly accused Beatty of allowing a potentially dangerous situation during a trustee meeting, with the lawmaker later relaying to MS Now, “He said he was going to hold me responsible if something fell out of the ceiling and killed someone.”

While Trump has made public gestures signaling a readiness to raze the once-prestigious performing arts center to rubble, administration officials in a court filing this week insisted a closure would be temporary and last a week or less. Attorneys for Beatty warned Cooper in their own filings that Trump may try to destroy portions of the center before the courts can stop him.

Related: Federal judge orders Trump’s name stripped from Kennedy Center

“Given the unexplained and unlawful closure, it is possible Defendants intend to undertake immediate steps in order to make public access practically impossible for the foreseeable future, including by demolishing public avenues of access to the building, and thereby evade the Court’s order by fait accompli,” a brief from Beatty’s attorneys reads.

Still, Cooper denied Beatty’s request for an emergency hearing, based on assurances from the administration that no one was moving to tear down the center immediately.

Related: Judge demands answers on Kennedy Center’s Trump tarp of shame

White House officials told ABC News the Kennedy Center had been left in disrepair by past administrations.

“"For years, Democrats let the Kennedy Center rot, allowing water damage and crumbling infrastructure to turn a national treasure into a building in decay. As President Trump said last night, without his intervention, The Kennedy Center will inevitably continue to decline,” White House spokesperson Liz Huston told ABC News.