Suspect says Satan told him to destroy the State Capitol's Ten Commandments monument
OKLAHOMA CITY - The controversial Ten Commandments monument at the State Capitol was destroyed Thursday night by a man who reportedly told authorities that Satan told him to do it.
Gov. Mary Fallin said the monument will be rebuilt.
A vehicle ran over the monument, knocking it into several pieces, said John Estus, a spokesman for the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
After crashing the vehicle, the suspect went to the federal building and allegedly made threatening statements about the president, said David Allison, assistant special agent in charge of the Oklahoma City field office of the U.S. Secret Service.
The Secret Service was then called, Allison said.
During questioning, the suspect, whose name has not been released, admitted to destroying the monument, Allison said. The suspect said Satan told him to destroy the monument, he said.
The suspect indicated that he was bipolar and not taking his medication, Allison said.
He was turned over to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Allison said.
The suspect was sent to an Oklahoma County medical facility under an emergency order of detention, said Capt. George Brown, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The suspect will undergo a mental evaluation, Brown said.
Officials with the OHP will meet Monday with the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s office to discuss charges.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol was made aware of it around 7 p.m. Thursday, Brown said.
The pieces of the monument were loaded Friday morning onto a vehicle by a forklift and taken to a storage facility.
“The monument was built to memorialize the historical significance of the Ten Commandments in guiding our laws and lives,” Fallin said. “It is absolutely appalling that someone would vandalize anything at the Oklahoma State Capitol - the people’s building - much less a monument of such significance.”
Last month during a legal challenge, an Oklahoma County district judge ruled that the monument could stay. The ACLU of Oklahoma represented the plaintiffs seeking to have the monument removed. It filed an appeal with the Oklahoma Supreme Court, said Ryan Kiesel, ACLU Oklahoma’s executive director.
The monument was authorized by 2009 legislation signed by then-Gov. Brad Henry. Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, was the House author of the measure, House Bill 1330.
The monument was bought with $10,000 donated by Ritze and his family and $10,000 more that was raised privately.
The Capitol Preservation Commission oversaw its placement on the north side of the building in 2012.
“Obviously, it is very disheartening that this has happened,” Ritze said. “We stand by our commitment that it is rebuilt.”
Ritze said he is concerned that the Capitol could be vulnerable from a security standpoint given the access the driver had to the area.
“The ACLU of Oklahoma and our clients are outraged over this apparent act of vandalism,” Kiesel said.
The organization continues to seek the removal of the monument because the plaintiffs believe placing it at the seat of government cheapens their deeply held religious beliefs as Christians, Kiesel said.
Also expressing dismay over the vandalism was Lucien Greaves, spokesman for The Satanic Temple, based in New York. The organization is seeking to have a satanic monument erected at the Capitol.
“The Satanic Temple was appalled to learn of the act of destructive vandalism laid upon the Ten Commandments monument in Oklahoma today,” Greaves said in a statement. “As many are aware, we are seeking to have a Satanic monument erected alongside the Ten Commandments - and only alongside the Ten Commandments. We do not want our monument to stand alone. If our monument stands at the state Capitol, we want it to compliment and contrast the Ten Commandments, with both standing unmolested as a testament to American religious freedom and tolerance.”
Tulsa World