An Oklahoma City man has been arrested and sent for a mental evaluation after he crashed his car into a Ten Commandments monument outside the Capitol building and blamed the act on Satan.
Michael Tate Reed Jr., 29, is accused of crashing his car into the monument outside of the Oklahoma City Federal Building Thursday night, smashing it to pieces.
Secret Service officials said the man blamed the act on Satan and made verbal threats toward President Obama, spitting on a photo of the president. He also allegedly admitted that he urinated on the Ten Commandments monument before destroying it, a local ABC affiliate reported.
“This is alarming that anyone would get this close to the Capitol and would be able to knock down a historical monument,” said Gov. Mary Fallin as she toured what remained of the monument, a local Fox affiliate reported.
State Representative Mike Reynolds, who helped raise private funds to build the monument, said the Capitol needs better security.
“The brazenness of driving across the Capitol grass is kind of amazing,” he said.
Mr. Reed was arrested by Secret Service and taken to an Oklahoma County mental facility for evaluation. Oklahoma Highway Patrol is coordinating with the district attorney’s office for possible charges.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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