A Ten Commandments monument on the Oklahoma Capitol grounds was broken into pieces after someone knocked it over with a car, and police have arrested a suspect who reportedly said Satan made him do it.
The destruction occurred sometime during the night on Thursday, according to Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. George Brown, who
told the Associated Press that the vehicle was abandoned near the broken monument.
The 6-foot statue was paid for by state Rep. Mike Ritze and his family to the tune of $10,000, but the American Civil Liberties Union has sued on the grounds that it violated the Oklahoma Constitution, the AP said.
Police arrested a man in
connection with the Ten Commandments monument's demise. According to KFOR, he then went to the Oklahoma City Federal Building Friday morning and made threats against the President and the government.
Agents told KFOR that the man, who is being evaluated for a mental illness, told them Satan made him crash his car into the Ten Commandments monument. The man apparently is bipolar and has been off of his medication.
“While we have and continue to seek the removal of the Ten Commandments monument from the Capitol grounds through the judicial process, the Ten Commandments constitute a strong foundation in our clients’ deeply held religious beliefs,” Ryan Kiesel, ACLUS of Oklahoma executive director, told KFOR in a statement. “To see the Ten Commandments desecrated by vandals is highly offensive to them as people of faith.”
Other groups have petitioned to erect statues on the grounds, including one that wants to put up a statue of Satan.
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