Arkansas' Ten Commandments Monument Lasted Less Than 24 Hours

[GennGreymane]

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...ntent=20170628

Less than a day after a monument of the Ten Commandments was installed outside the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock, it was destroyed when a man smashed a car into the stone.

Authorities say Michael T. Reed II drove a 2016 Dodge Dart into the 6,000-pound granite slab at about 4:47 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

"My boss called me and told me the Ten Commandments monument had been destroyed," Secretary of State and Capitol Police spokesman Chris Powell told NPR. "When I got here, it was rolled over on the sidewalk and broken into multiple pieces."


A video that appears to have been taken from inside the car was posted on the Facebook account of a Michael Reed early Wednesday. It shows what looks like the Arkansas State Capitol building. A man's voice says: "Oh my goodness. Freedom!" as the car careens into the monument.

Powell said the crash into the 6-foot-tall slab was no accident.

"This was deliberate. The individual drove down there and stopped. He was videoing it on his cellphone as he accelerated into the monument," Powell said. "One of our Capitol Police officers was on patrol and witnessed it."

Reed, who police say is a 32-year-old white man from Van Buren, Ark., was arrested outside the Capitol and booked at the Pulaski County Jail. He faces preliminary charges of defacing an object of public respect, a Class C felony; criminal mischief in the first degree, a Class C felony; and trespassing on the state Capitol grounds, a misdemeanor.

A similar incident happened at the Oklahoma Capitol in 2014: A man drove his car into a Ten Commandments monument, shattering it. That driver was identified as Michael T. Reed of Van Buren, Ark. He was admitted to a hospital the next day for mental treatment and not formally charged, The Associated Press reports. The news service says it's not clear whether the man is the same Michael T. Reed of Van Buren accused of mowing down the Arkansas monument.

In the 2014 incident, The Oklahoman reported that the U.S. Secret Service interviewed the driver and that he told agents that he has bipolar disorder and that Satan had directed him to destroy the monument.

Police said Wednesday that Reed was cooperative during his arrest and that, so far, there is no indication of motive.

The erection of the privately funded monument has been contentious. The Arkansas Legislature passed a law in 2015 requiring the installation of the monument on Capitol grounds. The Ten Commandments were erected Tuesday morning, and the ACLU of Arkansas has said it will sue for the monument's removal.

Meanwhile, Powell said Capitol workers are left picking up the (extremely heavy) pieces: "Our crew is in the process of cleaning all that up and carting it off. They have to get a tractor and put it on pallets and lift it up."

And the Dodge Dart was towed away, Powell said, adding, "There was minor damage, but not what you'd think, from what I hear, from knocking over a big stone monument."

Republican state Sen. Jason Rapert, who spearheaded the effort to install the Ten Commandments monument at the Capitol, says he wants to replace it, Michael Hibblen of member station KUAR reports.

"We will rebuild the monument," Rapert said. "It will be put in place and hopefully [protected] from any future harm."

[Elegiac]

Good riddance.

[ranzino]

gnihihihi

[Gemini Soul]

Whats with morons posting vids of their crimes on facebook, its like they don't realize that its what slams the jail cell door on them.


Hope he enjoys his time in jail!

[Nathreim]

A man so butt hurt he would destroy his car and ruin his life with a felony charge.

[Heladys]

He may not be the hero we deserve, but he's the hero we need right now.

[Machismo]

I did find this rather entertaining. Maybe people should keep their religion out of everyone's government.

- - - Updated - - -

Whats with morons posting vids of their crimes on facebook, its like they don't realize that its what slams the jail cell door on them.


Hope he enjoys his time in jail!

He just needs one atheist on his jury.

[Pterodactylus]

Those poor persecuted Christians.

(Infracted)

[Blood Raven]

I'm surprised the Satanists weren't trying to put up their own monument here like they did in Oklahoma to protest a similar statue.

[dd614]

Good riddance.

Nice to see you support destroying private property based on hurt feelings. You'd feel the same way if someone burned down your house, I suppose.

So many left-wind troglodytes can't even pretend to live by basic rules and laws of civilization. Punch a "nazi". Break that monument! Let's hope you get it turned back on you one day.

[ranzino]

I'm surprised the Satanists weren't trying to put up their own monument here like they did in Oklahoma to protest a similar statue.

Ummm, what DID they erect as monument actually ?

[zenkai]

Honestly it shouldn't be up there, it just opens the door for other Religions to do this, but I also don't agree with it being destroyed and hope they have to pay every last cent to fix it.

Triggered people man I swear, fucking snowflakes.

[GennGreymane]

I'm surprised the Satanists weren't trying to put up their own monument here like they did in Oklahoma to protest a similar statue.

It was great when they did. Top lulz

[Machismo]

Nice to see you support destroying private property based on hurt feelings. You'd feel the same way if someone burned down your house, I suppose.

So many left-wind troglodytes can't even pretend to live by basic rules and laws of civilization. Punch a "nazi". Break that monument! Let's hope you get it turned back on you one day.

Well, it was donated, so that should make it public property. Maybe we shouldn't mix religion and government.

[ranzino]

Nice to see you support destroying private property based on hurt feelings. You'd feel the same way if someone burned down your house, I suppose.

monument on capitol grounds is not private if it was build from taxpayer's money.

[Machismo]

monument on capitol grounds is not private if it was build from taxpayer's money.

I believe it was privately funded, then donated to the public.

[Raptor With a Saber]

I really don't see an issue with this. No religious monuments belong on government grounds. One state [you're gonna have to google so don't pointlessly quote and say source] Has an opening prayer before every meeting. People complained so they allowed the opening meetings to have the prayer and open it with all prayers of all faiths. Still leaving out non Christian/Catholic prayers people complained and it became a Fine each Meetings different prayer. But before it got to a non christian/catholic one they retracted it and banned it to a once a week/month pray and only one religion ill let you guess which. [Again this story happened a few years ago i may be remembering bits and pieces wrong but please google and let me know if i need to add another disclaimer.]

[ranzino]

I believe it was privately funded, then donated to the public.

not private property then.

[zenkai]

monument on capitol grounds is not private if it was build from taxpayer's money.

It's on public property (it shouldn't be) but it wasn't built with tax payers money, please use facts and stop spreading fake news.

[ro9ue]

I'm an atheist too, but honestly I feel like the religion hatred thing is just as idiotic as religious beliefs themselves.