Man to be formally charged in Arkansas' Ten Commandments destruction, prosecutor says

Michael Tate Reed, 32, of Van Buren and the Ten Commandments statue he is accused of knocking over with his vehicle.
Michael Tate Reed, 32, of Van Buren and the Ten Commandments statue he is accused of knocking over with his vehicle.

LITTLE ROCK — A prosecutor says he plans to charge a man accused of crashing his vehicle into a Ten Commandments monument outside the Arkansas Capitol with first-degree criminal mischief.

Larry Jegley told The Associated Press Monday that 32-year-old Michael Tate Reed faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted on the felony charge.

His attorney wasn't immediately available for comment.

Reed was arrested last month after Little Rock police say he intentionally drove into the monument, destroying it less than 24 hours after it was erected.

Reed was also arrested in 2014 after Oklahoma's Ten Commandments statue outside the state Capitol was destroyed but wasn't charged in that case.

Reed's sister, Mindy Poor, has said her brother suffers from schizoaffective disorder.

Photos by Emma Pettit
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