n unconstitutional monument of the Ten Commandments was removed yesterday from the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building, bringing the state into compliance with a federal court order.

   Hundreds of "anguished" protesters chanted and prayed as the 5,280-lb. granite marker was secured by a moving crew and rolled from the foyer to an unidentified "private place" somewhere else in the building, said news accounts. It is not clear exactly where the Commandments display is, nor is it known if any subsequent location for the controversial monument will be accessible to the public.

   The Commandments rock was erected two years ago on the orders of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who justified the monument as a public acknowledgement of God. Moore had garnered national attention while a judge in Etowah County, where he displayed a hand-carved wooden plaque representing the Decalogue in his courtroom. He frequently began court proceedings with a Baptist invocation led by clergy.

   When he ran for the state's highest elected judicial bench position, he promised to carry his crusade for public display of the Commandments and other religious symbols to the capital in Montgomery.

   Some critics, including those who had filed suit to have the Commandments removed, were pleased with the situation. Barry Lynn of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State called today's developments "a tremendous victory for the rule of law and respect for religious diversity."

   "Perhaps Roy Moore will soon leave the bench and move into the pulpit, which he seems better suited for."

   Others, though, are worried that today is not the end of the matter.

   Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists, voiced concern that the two-and-a-half-ton rock was not removed from the Judicial Building.

   "This whole controversy can drag on when and if Moore, or some other official, decides to relocate the monument to another part of the building in hopes of circumventing the original court ruling."

   Johnson noted that federal Judge Myron Thompson, who ruled that the Commandments display promoted sectarian religion, stipulated that the granite cenotaph could be placed in a "private" part of the Judicial Building.

   "Moore could have the monument placed in a slightly less conspicuous location, a hallway, anywhere in the building, and this dispute could re-ignite with more lawsuits, prayer rallies and expense for the taxpayers of the state of Alabama," said Johnson. "Officials failed to send a clear and unambiguous statement that the monument will not be permitted on public property."

   It took nearly ninety minutes for a small crew of workers to situate the monument and roll it to another area of the building. Many demonstrators outside were caught unaware of what was going on; but as word spread, shouts erupted and vigil organizers called for another round of public prayers.

   Graham George, the official manager for the Judicial Building, stepped outside to assure the self-described "prayer warriors" who had gathered to support the display of the Commandments that he sympathized with their cause. He added that the monument was being placed in a secured, windowless room temporarily, and the ultimate fate of the washing machine-sized display left up to its technical owner, Roy Moore.

   Many were taken off guard not only by the movement of the Commandments rock, but the fact the display is still at the Judicial Building.

   In an afternoon dispatch to supporters, televangelist Jerry Falwell declared that while the removal of Moore's monument was "an ominous sight," he was "quite surprised the movers simply transferred the monument; I had assumed they would ship it away from the site altogether. Apparently, the easily-offended plaintiffs who sued to have the monument removed will not be offended if it remains at the courthouse, as long as they can't see it."

   Falwell added that he would be "honored to have the monument prominently placed at Liberty University campus until -- hopefully -- the U.S. Supreme Court eventually hears the case and rules in his (Moore's) favor.

   "But I'm glad it is remaining there in Montgomery, for now."

   The events of the past week, especially Moore's defiance of a clear federal order to remove the commandments, has resulted in a slight cleft within America's agitated evangelical and fundamentalist community.

   Both Falwell and fellow televangelist Pat Robertson criticized Moore for defying the order, although they continue to support the unconstitutional display of the Ten Commandments. In the past, Robertson especially has suffered because of reckless statements, such as calling for "rebellion" against federal judges.

   Others, including religious right activist Gary Bauer, head of the Campaign for Working Families, told media today, "While there is deep division over Moore's strategy, it is increasingly clear that the public's patience is wearing thin with our rogue courts."

   Bauer continued to hammer away at what is an emerging agenda with religious conservatives, namely, curbing the authority of federal judges they increasingly describe as "sinister secularists in black robes."

   "For decades now, unelected judges have gone unchallenged while they ripped out every vestige of faith from the public square and tore down every symbol of our most deeply held beliefs," Bauer told Falwell's newsletter. "Whether it's prayer in the public schools, banning the Ten Commandments and Pledge of Allegiance, or inventing 'rights' to partial-birth abortion and homosexual sodomy, unelected judges have shown incredible disdain for public opinion, majority rule and the laws written by our elected representatives. Our representative democracy is in danger of becoming a robed oligarchy."

   A similar reaction was echoed by those demonstrating on the steps of the Judicial Building today. Many had camped out, others were on a "Minuteman" response list.

   "Put it back, put it back!" one agitated man screamed as fellow demonstrators tried to calm him down.

   Rev. Robert Schenck of the National Clergy Council told reporters, "It is a lamentable day in Alabama and the United States."

   Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition spoke out against Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor.

   In the past, Pryor has supported Justice Moore and the public display of the Ten Commandments, but declared that the state had an obligation to obey the federal court order to remove the monument. About 150 of the Commandments supporters tried to march into the Statehouse hoping to meet with Pryor, but were blocked by a cordon of state police. Several representatives of the group managed to have an audience with Pryor's chief deputy, though.

   According to WSFA television news, several state employees say they were threatened by the agitated demonstrators.

   And the anxiety increased when it was learned that with the removal of the monument, a lawsuit filed in Mobile claiming that such an action would violate freedom of religion would not be heard by a federal judge later in the day.

   Larry Darby, Alabama State Director for American Atheists, was pleased with the removal of the unconstitutional Commandments monument, telling news reporters, "It's about time. Justice Moore has made a mockery of the judicial system.

   "He has disgraced the bench and the bar and has embarrassed the state of Alabama worldwide. I'm only disappointed that it will not be out of the building and off of taxpayer property."

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