The District will not challenge an evangelical Christian organization’s right to display an 850-pound granite Ten Commandments monument in its front garden just 30 feet from the U.S. Supreme Court, officials said.
In a letter sent Monday to Faith And Action, located in a townhouse on Second Street NE, the D.C. Department of Transportation said after internal discussions the group has a “First Amendment right” to display the 850-pound granite monument.
Top city officials had expected a fight over the marker if the Christian organization and its president, the Rev. Robert Schenck, refused to secure a permit required by city. Because the ministry is in a historic district, the city considers the front yard to be public property.
The city had threatened to impose a $300-per-day fine on Faith and Action if it hadn’t at least start the application process by the end of June. Schenck has said his group had no intention of securing a permit. He could not be reached for comment on Monday.
The monument in “arguably the most powerful neighborhood in the world,” as one reverend said, has been “temporarily” erected with the goal of influencing the justices as they go to work in the morning.
