A Georgia monument was destroyed in a Wednesday explosion, according to surveillance video released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
The Georgia Guidestones, a monument near Elberton, was destroyed during the explosion, according to the GBI’s surveillance video. While the GBI has not yet identified a person of interest in connection with the incident, additional surveillance video shows a silver car driving away from the monument at 3:43 a.m. Wednesday. Both surveillance videos were shared to the GBI’s official Twitter feed, and in a subsequent Twitter post the bureau indicated that the monument had been “completely demolished” for safety reasons.
(1/3) The GBI is releasing surveillance video from this morning’s explosion that destroyed the Georgia Guidestones. pic.twitter.com/Vo3RyjDxdN
— GA Bureau of Investigation (@GBI_GA) July 6, 2022
The monument, nicknamed “America’s Stonehenge,” was built in 1980 by R.C. Christian, CBS News reported. The monument shared a 10-part message about “living in an ‘age of reason'” in eight languages, the outlet also reported. The monument, which is said to serve as a sundial and astronomical calendar, contains one instruction to keep the world population at 500 million or fewer. (RELATED: Washington Monument Gets Struck By Lightning, Closed Down For Repairs)
Kandiss Taylor, a former Georgia gubernatorial candidate, reacted to the explosion which destroyed the monument via Twitter.
“God is God all by Himself. He can do ANYTHING he wants to do. That includes striking down Satanic Guidestones,” she wrote.
God is God all by Himself. He can do ANYTHING He wants to do. That includes striking down Satanic Guidestones.
— Kandiss Taylor (@KandissTaylor) July 6, 2022
During her campaign, Taylor proposed an executive order that would rid Georgia of the monument, labeling it as a “Satanic Evil.”
Following the destruction of the monument Wednesday, Taylor said that she did not support vandalism and reiterated that she would have the monument removed using legal means, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
The person responsible for allegedly destroying the monument faces a minimum of 20 years in prison, the district attorney said, according to WSBTV.