Late last Monday night, workers came to the Oklahoma Capitol Grounds and quietly removed a massive stone monument depicting the Ten Commandments,reports The New York Times.The move came at the 11th hour; the state was facing a court-ordered deadline of Monday to remove the monument. The commandments will now stand on private land a few blocks south of the Capitol, a move facilitated by a conservative policy group, the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. The work crew use cutting tools and a crane to dislodge the two-and-a-half-ton monument.
The monument has been the source of a great deal of controversy in the state. Last year a man drove his car into the slab, breaking it into bits. A Republican state representative paid for a replacement. In protest, equal representation has been requested by various religious groups including Satanists and the satirical Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The state Office of Management and Enterprise and the Highway Patrol decided to move the monument to be late at night, to avoid causing a stir.