A group of fundamentalist Christians said to be linked to the QAnon conspiracy organisation has removed the monolith found in the Bay Area of Los Angeles and replaced it with a large cross.
The group traveled for 5 hours from their homes to the area, which they live-streamed on a channel called 'CultureWarCriminal'. Wearing combat-helmets and night-vision goggles, they then pulled the monolith down and dumped it in some bushes half-way down the hill.
During their mission, they chanted 'Christ is King' and said:
"Christ is king in this country. We don't want illegal aliens from Mexico or outer space. So let's tear this b***h down."
One of the group even bizarrely calls the monolith 'Gay'.
It is thought that they dropped the monolith when a group of passers-by spotted them. One of the group, who quickly fled, can be heard saying:
"Grab the cross and beat them with it!"
It is not thought that local officials will seek to press charges against the Christian group.
Deputy City Manager Terrie Banish told Atascadero News:
"The Monolith disappeared this morning. We did not remove it. There was rebar found in the ground, so we are planning to remove that as it's a safety hazard. At this time, the City does not have any plans to investigate this further."
The mysterious monolith is the third to appear in as many weeks. The first was spotted by government workers from a helicopter flying over the Utah desert. It gained news headlines across the world for its similar appearance to the monolith that appears in Stanley Kubrick's classic film '2001: Space Odyssey'. A second monolith then appeared on a hillside in Romania, and then the third appeared days later in California.
The first monolith was removed just days ago by an environmentalist group worried that tourists entering the area were damaging the local environment.
It is still not clear who is behind any of the three monoliths or whether the groups placing them are in any way connected. It is highly-suspected, at least in the case of the first monolith, that avant-garde artists were behind the placement.
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