‘Freedom’ drive into Ten Commandments
LITTLE ROCK (Arkansas): A man yelled “Freedom!” as he crashed his vehicle into Arkansas’ new Ten Commandments monument early yesterday, nearly three years after he was arrested in the destruction of Oklahoma’s monument at its state Capitol.
The privately funded Arkansas monument had been in place outside the state Capitol in Little Rock for less than 24 hours before it was knocked from its plinth and smashed to pieces.
Michael Tate Reed, 32, of Van Buren, Arkansas, was booked in the Pulaski County jail on preliminary charges of defacing objects of public interest and criminal trespassing. Arkansas Secretary of State’s Office spokesman Chris Powell said officials believe a Facebook Live video posted on a Michael Reed’s Facebook account that depicted the destruction is authentic.
In the video, the sky is dark and the Arkansas Capitol’s dome is visible. Music is heard followed by a female voice, likely on the radio, saying, “Where do you go when you’re faced with adversity and trials and challenges?”
The driver is then heard growling, “Oh my goodness. Freedom!” before accelerat- ing into the monument. The vehicle’s speedometer is last shown at 33km/h and then a collision can be heard.
Oklahoma County Sheriff ’s spokesman Mark Opgrande said Reed was arrested in October 2014 in the destruction of Oklahoma’s Ten Commandments monument at the state Capitol. Opgrande confirmed that the suspect arrested yesterday in Arkansas was the same person arrested in the Oklahoma case.
Arkansas’ granite monument weighed 2 721kg. It was installed on Tuesday morning on the southwest lawn of the Capitol with little fanfare and no advance notice.
“Obviously, I’m very disappointed that someone would carry out an act of violence that’s actually against the people of Arkansas,” said Republican Senator Jason Rapert, the state lawmaker who led the push for the monument. Rapert said he was confident he could quickly raise funds for a replacement.
Travis Story, the general counsel of the American History and Heritage Foundation, which raised money for the monument, said the group had already ordered a replacement but that it would take a few months. – ANA-AP