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Arrest made after Ten Commandments monument at Arkansas Capitol toppled, shattered
[ARKANSASONLINE] A 6-foot-tall stone Ten Commandments monument installed Tuesday on the Arkansas Capitol grounds was toppled less than 24 hours later after a 32-year-old Arkansas man drove a vehicle into the statue, apparently while streaming the act live on Facebook, officials said.If you don't agree with it, destroy it. Chris Powell, a spokesman with the Secretary of State's Office, said he was called early Wednesday and told a man drove a vehicle through the monument. That driver — identified in an arrest report as Michael Tate Reed of Van Buren — was arrested by Capitol police shortly after, Powell said. News reports indicate Reed was previously accused of destroying a Ten Commandments monument in Oklahoma. The Arkansas arrest report said an officer around 4:45 a.m. spotted a dark-colored vehicle "start from a stopped position and ram the Ten Commandments monument." "I immediately exited my vehicle and placed the subject in custody," Corporal Chad Durham wrote, noting Reed was first taken to a local hospital before being booked into the Pulaski County jail. The arrest report for Reed listed "unemployed/disabled" under occupation. Reed, who was lodged in the jail shortly after 7:30 a.m., faces charges of defacing objects of public respect, trespassing on Capitol grounds and first-degree criminal mischief, according to the report. He was being held without bail pending an initial court appearance. It was “absolutely” a shock to get the call about what happened, Powell said. “We had some concerns, just because this was such a highly charged issue with some people,” Powell said. Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow, who sponsored the 2015 law to erect the monument on state grounds, called the statue's destruction "an act of violence" and said he expects to be able to raise funds quickly to replace the display. The senator is expected to speak more about what happened at an 11:30 a.m. news conference at the Capitol. Posted by: Fred 2017-06-29 |
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