Ten Commandments monument near US Supreme Court knocked over by vandals
The stone monument of the Ten Commandments that sits on a street behind the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington has been toppled by vandals.
The 3-foot-by-3-foot granite monument weighs 850 pounds and sits out front of the headquarters of Faith and Action, a Christian outreach ministry.
The monument had been pushed over so that the words of the Ten Commandments are now face down. Vandals bent a steel rod that secures the monument to a thick concrete base to an almost 90 degree angle. The monument itself is not damaged, Rev. Robert Schenck said.
Schenck heads the organization and said the incident occurred between Friday night and Saturday night.
“Whoever did this was determined to get it done because it’s not something you could easily do,” Schenck said, adding that the vandals also installed a “For Rent” yard sign by the monument and that the vandalism was reported to police.
Officer Anthony Clay, a Metropolitan Police Department spokesman, said Monday that the case remains open.
Schenck said he did not know how much it would cost to bring the tablets upright, but the organization plans to reinforce the monument and install a security camera that monitors the area.
He said they also plan to ask a neighboring organization and the U.S. Supreme Court for their security footage during the time when the monument was vandalized.
The group bought the stone tablets at a charity auction in 2001. They were one of four removed by a federal court order from the fronts of public schools in Adams County, Ohio.
The Ten Commandments are no longer on display in one Kentucky school district after an atheist group led an opposition
