Only a month after the Supreme Court ruled that a 7-foot-tall metal cross could remain as the Mojave Desert War Memorial, it has been stolen. The 75-year-old war memorial disappeared overnight from the National Park Service site.

Someone cut the metal bolts holding the metal-pipe cross to the top of the memorial’s Sunrise Rock on Sunday night or early Monday morning.

The cross was placed on the rock in 1934 to honor troops who died in World War I. For those who may think that this is an act defending civil liberties, think again. For those of us who believe strongly in the separation of church and state, such acts are horrific denials of the rule of law. Civil liberties rest ultimately on a respect for the law. When people turn vigilantes, they deny the very necessity for civil liberties to strive. They also taint the cause of those who sought to uphold a principle in this case. This is an appalling act that is an insult not only against these veterans but against our legal system as a whole.

The Liberty Institute is now offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Park Service at (760) 252-6120.

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