New 10 Commandments monument being built

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A Republican legislator whose family paid $10,000 for a Ten Commandments monument at the center of lawsuit says he has ordered a new one after someone drove a car across the statehouse lawn and smashed it into pieces.

State Rep. Mike Ritze of Broken Arrow says he has ordered an identical Ten Commandments monument that is under construction. Like the first one, he says it will be built entirely with private money and that a fundraiser is ongoing.

The 6-foot-tall granite monument was erected in 2012 on the north side of the state Capitol. Last month, someone drove a car across the statehouse lawn and directly into the monument, smashing it into several pieces.

A 29-year-old man was admitted for a mental evaluation after the incident, but hasn’t been charged.