Following an explosion earlier in the morning, that destroyed a portion of the statue, the Georgia’s Guidestones, a mysterious granite monument, was demolished Wednesday evening.
Initially responding to the scene, the Elbert County Sheriff’s Office, requested the GBI’s assistance in the investigation. Though stones had been previously vandalized, including with graffiti, over the years, currently no arrests or suspects of interest in connection with the explosion have been reported as of yet.
According 11 Alive, an explosion occurred around 4:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. In the blast, the monolith panels, located 90 miles east of Atlanta, were partially destroyed. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) reported that that-
“A large portion of the structure” (was destroyed when authorities arrived on the scene) Later in the afternoon, the GBI announced that crews had demolished the rest of the structure “[f]or safety reasons.”
-The Georgia Bureau of Investigation
The (GBI) also released surveillance footage of a vehicle leaving the site shortly after the explosion. The monument was erected in 1980, built from local granite, by an unknown individual or group who went by the pseudonym “R.C. Christian” While some referred to the monument as “America’s Stonehenge,” others viewed the stones as “Satanic.”
Examples of writings engraved on the stones included –
“Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature,” “Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity,” and “Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court,”.
- Georgia’s Guidestones
Executive Vice President of the Elberton Granite Association, Christopher Kubas, said each stone stood,
“16 feet and 4 inches tall,” and “weighed about 42,000 pounds each.”
- Christopher Kubas
The sound of the explosion was so loud, that some residents, as far as five miles away, were startled in the early hours of the morning. Some residents simply thought that they had heard “thunder.”
On social media, as footage began circulating, of the stones being demolished by crews, some users expressed their approval of the stone’s destruction. In fact, conservative social media personality, Ian Miles Cheong, tweeted a video of the Guidestones being demolished, saying, “You love to see it.”
Kandiss Taylor, former gubernatorial candidate tweeted Wednesday morning-
“God is God all by Himself. He can do ANYTHING He wants to do. That includes striking down Satanic Guidestones.” Taylor, who placed third in the Republican primary, made “demolishing” the stones a part of her campaign platform.
An obvious curiosity for some, a point of heresy for others – the sheer length of time that these pieces of stone have stood in place, poses an interesting conundrum. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will likely bring forth more information, as to this explosion and the removal of this monument.