Thieves steal Mojave Desert cross that was center of US Supreme Court dispute

Thieves take controversial Mojave Desert cross

MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE, Calif. — Authorities say a 7-foot-tall cross in the Mojave Desert that sparked a U.S. Supreme Court dispute has been stolen.

The National Park Service says someone cut the bolts holding down the metal-pipe cross and made off with it late Sunday or early Monday.

Veterans groups say they’re outraged at what they consider the desecration of a symbol that was erected in 1934 by the Veterans of Foreign Wars to honor World War I dead.

The cross was challenged by critics who say a religious symbol shouldn’t be allowed on public land but the U.S. Supreme Court last month refused to order it removed.