Police in Montana have confirmed the arrest of a local man after he pulled down a Ten Commandments monument using his pickup truck and a chain.
Associated Press reports that 30-year-old Columbia Falls man Anthony Weimer was booked into jail on charges of felony criminal mischief after pulling down the monument on Saturday in Kalispell. Police responded to calls that a man had wrapped a chain around the monument, with those same callers later witnessing him pull it onto the street. He allegedly removed the chain from it and got back into his truck, leaving the scene.
Weimer was later tracked down and arrested, but the motive behind the removal of the monument remains unclear. He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
The news comes less than a week after Donald Trump threatened anyone who vandalizes or destroys a monument or statue with up to ten years behind bars. "I have authorized the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue, or other such federal property in the U.S. with up to 10 years in prison, per the Veteran's Memorial Preservation Act," he wrote on Twitter.
His comments arrived after a string of statues were torn down by protesters across the country, with most of the statues dedicated to slave traders, colonizers, or the confederacy.
