Ten Commandments display to go back up at Arkansas capitol after first one destroyed

The date is set for the new Ten Commandments monument to go up at the Arkansas capitol after the first version was destroyed when a driver plowed into it.

State Sen. Jason Rapert (R), who sponsored the original monument, said that crews will reinstall the Ten Commandments on the statehouse grounds in Little Rock next week. A spokesman for Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin confirmed to Arkansas Online that the installation is set for April 26.

“We are happy to have made this all possible for the citizens of Arkansas as they honor one of the historical and moral foundations of American law – the Ten Commandments,” Rapert wrote on the project’s GoFundMe account. 

Some before and afters, for comparison #ARnews #arnews pic.twitter.com/TMhZQZGoEm

— Emma Pettit (@EmmaJanePettit) June 28, 2017

Rapert founded the American History and Heritage Foundation, which raised over $85,000 for a new monument, which will include concrete barriers for protection.

{mosads}The original monument, which was also put up at private expense, was destroyed in June when a driver hit it with a car less than 24 hours after it debuted.

Michael Tate Reed II was accused of the crash but was declared unfit to stand trial in November, according to Arkansas Online. 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had threatened to sue over the first monument. 

“At a time when we do not need any more religious conflict and divisiveness in the world and in this country, it violates the First Amendment promise of religious liberty to all,” ACLU Executive Director Rita Sklar told NPR last year. “By placing a monument to a particular set of religious beliefs, it appears that the state enforces one particular set of beliefs over others and over no religion. And it makes people who fall into those categories — no religion or other religion — feel like second-class citizens in the state of Arkansas, which they are not.”