Van Buren man runs over the 10 Commandments statue at the Capitol

The man who ran over the 10 Commandments statue at the State Capitol and streamed it live on Facebook has been identified as a man from Van Buren.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Chris Powell, a spokesman with the Secretary of State's Office, said he was called early Wednesday and told a man drove a vehicle through the monument. That driver — identified in an arrest report as Michael Tate Reed of Van Buren — was arrested by Capitol police shortly after, Powell said. News reports indicate Reed was previously accused of destroying a Ten Commandments monument in Oklahoma.

The Arkansas arrest report said an officer around 4:45 a.m. spotted a dark-colored vehicle "start from a stopped position and ram the Ten Commandments monument."

"I immediately exited my vehicle and placed the subject in custody," Corporal Chad Durham wrote, noting Reed was first taken to a local hospital before being booked into the Pulaski County jail.

The arrest report for Reed listed "unemployed/disabled" under occupation.

Reed, who was lodged in the jail shortly after 7:30 a.m., faces charges of defacing objects of public respect, trespassing on Capitol grounds and first-degree criminal mischief, according to the report. He was being held without bail pending an initial court appearance.


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