Workers removing Ten Commandments from Oklahoma Capitol

Source: AP

By SEAN MURPHY

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A granite monument of the Ten Commandments that has sparked controversy since its installation on the Oklahoma Capitol grounds was being removed late Monday and will be transported to a private conservative think tank for storage.

A contractor the state hired began removing the monument shortly after 10:30 p.m. The works comes after the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision in June that the display violates a state constitutional prohibition on the use of public property to support "any sect, church, denomination or system of religion."

The state is paying the contractor about $4,700 to remove the monument and take it to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs' offices a few blocks away, Office of Management and Enterprise Services spokesman John Estus said.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol had increased security around the monument earlier Monday, and barriers were erected to keep visitors from getting close to it. Estus said the decision to remove the monument under the cover of darkness was made to avoid disturbing workers at the Capitol and to keep protesters from demonstrating while heavy equipment was being used to detach the two-ton monument from its base.

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Workers remove the Ten Commandments monument from its base on the grounds of the state Capitol in Oklahoma City, Monday, Oct. 5, 2015. The removal comes after the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision in June that the display violates a state constitutional prohibition on the use of public property. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)


Workers place the Ten Commandments monument in its new home at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, just down the street from the state Capitol, in Oklahoma City, early Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015. The monument was removed from the state Capitol late Monday after the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision in June that the display violates a state constitutional prohibition on the use of public property to support "any sect, church, denomination or system of religion." (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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