he judges of the Alabama Supreme Court ruled earlier today that the state's Chief Justice must comply with a federal order to remove an unconstitutional monument of the Ten Commandments from the Judicial Building in Montgomery.

   Also calling for the monument to be relocated was Attorney General William Pryor, who remains the target of a filibuster in Washington, DC over his possible appointment to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Pryor has been a key supporter of Justice Moore in the past and gone on record as declaring that the Commandments are the basis of the Western legal canon.

   "The rule of law means that no person, including the chief justice of Alabama, is above the law," Pryor told a new conference. "When courts resolve disputes, we all must obey the orders of these courts even when we disagree with those orders."

   Moore, who ordered the placement of the controversial 5,280-lb granite religious monument in the foyer of the Judicial Building, has been a colorful and incendiary hero to many religious groups promoting the public display of the Ten Commandments. While a judge in Etowah County, he attracted national media coverage for displaying a hand-carved plaque of the Decalogue above his dais, and allowing invocations prior to official judicial proceedings. When he ran for Alabama's Chief Justice position in 2000, he promised to bring his fight to display the Commandments to the state capital.

   On Wednesday, attorneys for Moore failed in a bid to have the U.S. Supreme Court block an order by federal judge Myron Thompson to have the Commandments removed by midnight of last evening. Lawyers for the chief justice argued that Moore should be permitted by the government to "establish justice by acknowledging the guidance and favor of Almighty God, placed upon him by his oath of office and the Constitution of Alabama."

   Meanwhile, Moore continued to work the media. In an interview with the CBS program "The Early Show," Moore insisted, "This case is not about a monument, it's not about politics or religion, it's about the acknowledgment of God. We must acknowledge God because our constitution says our justice system is established upon God."

   Outside, hundreds of Christian activist have gathered to support Moore by holding round-the-clock prayer and singing sessions. News reports suggest that many are prepared to resort to some kind of civil disobedience when authorities take steps to remove the Commandments display.

   Judge Thompson has said that the Decalogue rock could be relocated to private property, or an office inside the Judicial Building. But Moore and his supporters are holding firm, and pledge to defy any attempt to remove the holy rock from the rotunda foyer.

   "I'm staying till the bitter end and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep the monument here," said one local resident.

   "I fear this could come to bloodshed," declared Rev. Gene Chapman, a preacher who walked 700 miles from his Austin, Texas home to Montgomery to display his support for Moore. "This is how revolutions start."

   There was similar tough rhetoric, especially when 16 Commandments protesters were handcuffed by police and led away earlier. Scores of other supporters gathered around singing religious hymns and praying out loud. The mood also threatened to turn ugly when state workers showed up to erect a barrier around the washing machine-sized Commandments display. Moore immediately took action ordering the work stopped, and the workers left.

   A number of those arrested refused to walk and had to be dragged from the rotunda area or pushed out in wheelchairs.

   Web blogs, media stories and other reports from the scene in Montgomery indicate that some of the vocal Moore supporters appear to also be militant anti-abortion activists. One group came in a van profusely decorated with anti-choice slogans and blown-up pictures of what were claimed to be aborted fetuses. There seems to be growing disagreement between those wanting to expand the focus of protest to other issues -- abortion, gay rights, prayer and Christian government -- and those seeking to concentrate solely on the Decalogue issue and Roy Moore.

   Some of the protesters were uncomfortable with the presence of White Supremacists and anti-tax activists.

   "We don't want to create controversy," said Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition. "These other groups don't represent who we are."

Others, in keeping with the theme of "drawing a line in the sand," described the situation in Manichean terms. A woman identified as Barbara Labbous brought her family from Nashville, Tenn. and said they were proud to be taking a stand. He son, Bryan Ansley told reporters, "All that's necessary for evil to prevail is for good people to stand silent. Even if they remove this thing (the monument), our duty is to stand up and be counted and (have) our voices heard."

   Threats of defiance continue to echo along with rhetoric suggesting that the Montgomery protests are "the start of something." Moore touched upon this theme with a statement declaring, "The U.S. Supreme Court's denial of a stay will not deter me from continuing to fight for the right of our state to acknowledge God."

   While rulings concerning the separation of church and state have usually generated considerable controversy, there is growing evidence that the culture war battle over religion in the public square -- with the Alabama Commandments fracas a pivotal example -- is taking on a more blustery, threatening and even potentially violent tone.

   Supporters of Moore's display are turning up the rhetoric to an unprecedented level.

   "Every minute that monument stays in this building ... is a victory," said Presbyterian minister Patrick Mahoney. "Should they try to remove this monument from this court, we will peacefully gather around the monument to prevent them from removing it."

   He added, "We're going to stay here as long as it takes. A federal judge's ruling is not the law."

   Mahoney also praised Moore, noting "He's willing to go to jail, face fines and be stripped of his position" -- a posture he compared to that of the late Dr. Martin Luther King.

   But with the growing braggadocio of some Moore supporters, especially militant anti-abortionists, Christian Identity white supremacists and over-the-top "prayer warriors" who see themselves locked in cosmic battle with secularist evil, violence -- now or at some future point -- becomes a possibility. Terrorism experts speak of "unknown unknowns," the chance that an unexpected individual or group, triggered by a dramatic event, may take direct and lethal action in service to a political or religious cause.

   Timothy McVeigh, the man behind the Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, claimed that the attack by federal agents on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas was a turning point in his ideological trajectory.

   Could the confrontation in Montgomery provide similar inspiration for excitable -- and even unstable -- supporters of Justice Moore who may also be even more extreme in their social agenda? Indeed, at last Saturday's much-hyped "Restore the Commandments Rally," there was a pervasive sense that a certain segment of evangelical, fundamentalist religionists had reached a juncture or "tipping point."

   Whether this takes the form of political action similar to groups like the Christian Coalition, or spins off more extreme and direct-action oriented groups remains to be seen. Moore supporters, though, seem to agree with the sentiment that, as one prayer enthusiast told Reuters news service, "All systems are under the law of God. We are a Godly people and the Ten Commandments represent our submission to God."

   Larry Darby, Alabama State Director for American Atheists, told reporters that permitting the unconstitutional monument to remain in the Judicial Building would be a dangerous step toward theocracy and the toleration of religious extremism.

   "As our nation becomes more theocratic," Darby said, "Atheists stand the most chance of being persecuted. Moore's Ten Commandments rock is a symbol of the de facto establishment of Christianity as Alabama's state religion."

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