A man rammed his car into and destroyed a newly-installed monument to the Ten Commandments outside of Arkansas’ State Capitol — less than 24 hours after it was unveiled by politicians.
Michael Reed, 32, allegedly shouted “Freedom!” after the collision, according to video posted to Facebook, authorities said. A spokesman for Arkansas’ State Capitol Police confirmed Reed’s arrest to NBC News, adding that the granite tableau had been “shattered” in Wednesday’s incident. Police also said videos were found on Reed’s cell phone at the time of his arrest that he’d allegedly posted to Facebook before and after the incident.
The first post allegedly shows Reed explaining to viewers why he felt the monument violated the Constitution’s establishment clause.
“One thing I do not support is a violation of our Constitutional right … that guarantees the separation of church and state,” Reed allegedly says in the video.
Defending our Constitutional Rights #CHECKMATE
Posted by Michael Reed on Wednesday, June 28, 2017
A second post allegedly captures the moment Reed destroyed the monument. According to NBC‘s Oklahoma affiliate KFOR, Wednesday’s incident is not the first time Reed has been arrested for destroying a statue of the biblical commandments. In 2014, Reed was also arrested in Oklahoma for vandalizing a Ten Commandments monument, the station reported. Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, took to Twitter to vent his frustration that the monument had been destroyed, sharing a link to a news story about Reed’s arrest.
Freedom
Posted by Michael Reed on Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Some idiot in my home state broke all 10 commandments at the same time. He wasn’t Moses and it wasn’t Mt. Sinai. https://t.co/r8hXrJ32JZ
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) June 28, 2017
