Replica cross in Mojave goes up, comes down

MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE, Calif. -- A replica of a cross honoring America's war dead that drew the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court before it was stolen this month mysteriously appeared Thursday, but officials said it was illegal and took it down.

A maintenance worker discovered the cross bolted to a concrete pad on Sunrise Rock, Mojave National Preserve spokeswoman Linda Slater said.

The cross was put up during the night, and nobody has claimed responsibility, Slater said.

The stolen cross had been the subject of a legal dispute for about a decade after a former park service workers sued on grounds that the Christian symbol was unconstitutionally located on government land.

Congress reacted by transferring land under the cross to private ownership.

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to order the removal of the cross while a lower court decides whether the land transfer was legal. But the cross was hidden by a wooden cover.

The white, painted replica was made of metal pipes and resembled the 7-foot original, which was stolen on May 9 or May 10, but workers soon determined it was a copy, Slater said.

"The paint job is new, and there are none of the marks of the original cross," she said.

The latest cross was 6 inches taller than the original, she said. Four new holes were drilled to replace bolts cut off by thieves who took the original.

Slater said the government remained under court order not to display a cross on the site. And because the replica is not the original disputed cross, it had to come down.

"Technically, it's illegal," she said.

Slater said it will be stored as evidence, but it was unclear whether the people who erected it will face charges.

The theft of the original cross remained under investigation, she added.