On Wednesday, December 5, 2001, the web sites of the United States Department of Interior, including all related bureaus, agencies, and organizations, were removed from the World Wide Web, without notice or any information on when would-be-users could expect restored service. The shutdown was a result of that day’s ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth in connection
with a long-running civil lawsuit between members of various American Indian tribes and the Department of the Interior. The lawsuit deals with the mismanagement of Indian Trust Monies for over a hundred years by the Department of the Interior, but was brought to the attention of the wider public audience when it caused this widespread interruption of Internet service.