Ten Commandments Plaque Protest

Four people were detained by sheriff's deputies for trying to block workers from placing a plastic shroud over a Ten Commandments plaque on the county courthouse's facade.

A federal judge had ordered the 82-year-old plaque on the Chester County courthouse covered by April 22 after ruling its display violated the constitutional separation of church and state.

More than 100 protesters gathered at the building Monday to demonstrate against the order. Just before 2 p.m., when county workers were scheduled to place a beige plastic cover over the plaque, three men and one woman sat in front of the bronze panel and refused to move.

Officers moved in minutes later, peacefully carrying away protesters William Devlin, Mafalda Thomas-Bouzy, Dan Daccardi and Michael Marcavage. None will face charges, officials said.

The crowd then booed and chanted "You can't cover the truth," as the covering went up.

U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell ordered the plaque removed in March after a trial in a civil complaint brought by an atheist group, the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia.

Members of the society said they were offended and intimidated by the plaque. The American Civil Liberties Union argued the case on behalf of society member Sally Flynn, a former Sunday school teacher.

Dalzell ruled that posting a Christian religious document on a courthouse was akin to a government endorsement of a particular religion — something forbidden by the First Amendment.

The order to take down the 50-inch-by-39-inch bronze plaque has been stayed pending the county's appeal, but Dalzell said it must be covered while the court case is resolved.

Devlin, in a phone call from a prisoner holding area at the courthouse, said the county should have the right to keep the Commandments up.

"The Constitution says we have freedom of religion, not freedom from religion," he said. "The Ten Commandments are good for everybody."