A 36-year-old homeless man has been arrested in the vandalism of a historic World War I statue in Eureka Springs.
Dustin Curtis Doak told police that he was "given orders by Israel" to deface the doughboy statue in Basin Spring Park, according to a report.
"Doak then stated, soon his perfect father, Jesus Christ, my lord, is gonna take over this land and anyone responsible for worshiping those things are gonna be in grave danger for worshiping the false idols," according to a Eureka Springs police report summarizing officers' interview with Doak.
Doak told police that he beat on the statue's face with a wooden cross, which shattered during the attack.
Police found surveillance video in which they could see someone with long blond hair and a beard, wearing a robe, climb the 11-foot-tall marble statue and strike its face numerous times, causing parts of the marble to break away.
Police identified the suspect at Doak.
The incident took place early Thursday.
Doak was arrested Friday afternoon walking along Main Street in front of the Eureka Springs courthouse.
According to the police report, Doak was arrested on accusations of "defacing objects of public respect," a Class C felony, but he hadn't been formally charged by a prosecutor as of Tuesday afternoon.
Scott Miskiel, city parks director, estimated the cost to repair the statue will be about $4,500, according to the police report.
Mayor Robert "Butch" Berry said that about $20,000 was spent a few years ago to restore the statue and base.
The statue was placed in the park in 1929, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
An inscription on the front of the base reads: "In memory of our deceased World War veterans, Western District of Carroll County."
U.S. service members in World War I were often called doughboys.