ADF condemns theft of Mojave Cross

Memorial to World War I veterans was subject of recent Supreme Court case

Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Courtesy Scott Wright

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Alliance Defense Fund—jointly involved in a project with the American Legion and the American Legion Department of California to defend veterans’ memorials across the country—is strongly condemning the theft of the Mojave Cross veterans’ memorial from the California desert.

“This is a cowardly and criminal act that dishonors heroes who have given their lives for our country. Those who deny our heritage and religious liberty will not succeed through vandalism under cover of darkness,” said ADF Senior Counsel Joseph Infranco. “What the ACLU could not accomplish in court, intolerant cowards are now trying to do through crime. Tearing down this monument is a criminal act, but it also demonstrates a hostility to the nation’s history and the First Amendment. This is a growing threat, but ADF and its alliance of 1,600 attorneys stand ready to defend America’s veterans’ memorials.”

Courtesy Scott Wright

On April 28, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Salazar v. Buono that a land transfer initiated by Congress that passed the land under the monument back into the hands of a private veterans’ group was not unconstitutional. Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund, Advocates for Faith and Freedom, and the American Legion Department of California filed a friend-of-the-court brief in June 2009 that argued for the lifting of a court order which had required the memorial to be covered up. The order was the result of a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a former Mojave Preserve employee who claimed he was “offended” by the cross.

Various forms of the memorial cross have existed at the location ever since 1934 when the Veterans of Foreign Wars placed it at the spot where it stood until it was stolen, most likely late Sunday night or early Monday morning.

The Defense of Veterans’ Memorials Project spearheaded by ADF, the American Legion Department of California, and the Liberty Institute seeks to defend America’s veterans’ memorials from attack in the courts. 

  • Photos (courtesy of Scott Wright) of missing Mojave Cross memorial: Close-up | Distant
  • Pronunciation guide: Infranco (In-frank-o)
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
 

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