Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Suspect in ruin of monument makes first court appearance
Judge sets bail at $100,000 for Van Buren man, 32 Public defender Peggy Egan told the judge that there may be some “mental health concerns” regarding Reed.
A man accused of ramming and toppling a Ten Commandments monument less than 24 hours after it was installed on the state Capitol grounds insisted Thursday on representing himself in his first court appearance in the case.
Michael Tate Reed, 32, frequently interrupted his court-appointed public defender and the judge during the morning proceedings.
Reed of Van Buren was arrested by Arkansas Capitol Police Wednesday on charges of defacing objects of public respect, trespassing on Capitol grounds, both misdemeanors, and first-degree criminal mischief, a felony.
Reed appeared Thursday morning before Pulaski County District Judge Wayne Gruber via a video feed from the Pulaski County jail. When he approached the camera, Reed appeared to be calm but then exclaimed “My Lord, my God” multiple times and told his public defender that he did not need her services. At some points during his appearance, Reed’s comments were muted because they were disrupting the courtroom.
Public defender Peggy Egan told the judge that there may be some “mental health concerns” regarding Reed. In her request that bail be set at
$10,000, Egan asked Gruber not to consider similar allegations made against Reed in Oklahoma.
Previously, Reed was accused of destroying, in similar fashion, a Ten Commandments monument at the Oklahoma state Capitol, after which he was hospitalized for mental evaluation and treatment, according to the Tulsa World.
As Egan was speaking Thursday, Reed frequently interrupted her. Only snippets of what he said could be heard in the courtroom.
Gruber told Reed not to make any remarks that could be used against him at a later date. “Listen to Ms. Egan. She’s very, very well-versed in the law, very, very experienced in criminal law. Let her speak on your behalf, please,” Gruber said.
The prosecuting attorney listed the allegations against Reed, as well as Reed’s previous convictions on drug possession and driving while intoxicated charges. The state requested bail be set at $100,000.
After listening to both attorneys, Gruber said, “I’ve listened to the allegations. Frankly, they shock me.”
“I’m reminded of a much more serious offense — that being the praying folks in the Charleston church who were slaughtered by a gunman,” the judge said, referring to the 2015 massacre of nine people in South Carolina.
“The allegations are simply allegations. They must be proven beyond reasonable doubt,” Gruber said. “But they are very, very serious allegations.”
He set Reed’s bail at $100,000. Jail officers then led Reed out of the lockup’s hearing room. Gruber set Reed’s next court date for Sept. 7.
The Ten Commandments monument was installed Tuesday outside the Capitol.
State Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow, sponsored what became the 2015 law allowing the monolith to go up on Capitol grounds and helped raise $26,000 in private donations for the project.
According to police, around 4:45 a.m. Wednesday, an officer saw a dark vehicle start from a stopped position and ram into the monument. Reed appeared to live-stream a video of himself heading for the 6-foot-tall display, officials said.
In a Facebook Live video posted to an account under the name Michael Reed, a driver flips on his headlights and shouts, “Freedom!” as he barrels toward the stone. When contact is made, the video cuts out.
In another Facebook video, a man who calls himself Michael Reed tells viewers that he is a “firm believer that part of salvation is that we not only have faith in Jesus Christ but we obey the commands of God, and that we confess Jesus as Lord.”
“But one thing I do not support is the violation of our constitutional right to have the freedom that’s guaranteed to us, that guarantees us the separation of church and state,” the man said. He describes himself as a “born again Christian” and a “Jesus Freak,” in that video.
The granite monument, which was placed next to a walkway that connects the Capitol and the Arkansas Supreme Court building, rested in pieces on the pavement early Wednesday. Capital crews carted off the debris as reporters swarmed nearby and passers-by snapped photos.
Rapert said at a news conference later Wednesday that a replacement monument has already been ordered. It will resemble the toppled one and might be protected by steel posts surrounding it, he said.
“We want to put up monuments in every state, every county, every city and every town. And every organization that wants one, we’re going to help them do that,” Rapert said.
In a Facebook Live video posted to an account under the name Michael Reed, a driver flips on his headlights and shouts, “Freedom!” as he barrels toward the stone.