The FFRF Action Fund names the Rockwall County Commissioners Court as its “Theocrats of the Week” for unanimously approving a Ten Commandments monument outside a Texas courthouse.
A Ten Commandments monument was recently unveiled outside the Rockwall County Historic Courthouse. This follows a 2025 resolution that the Commissioners Court unanimously passed approving the placing of a monument on state land commemorating the religious doctrine. The resolution falsely asserts that the Ten Commandments “are one of the moral and historical foundations of the law” in the United States.
The resolution was brought to the court’s agenda by Precinct 3 Commissioner Lorne Liechty, who was also assigned the task alongside Precinct 1 Commissioner Bobby Callana of approving the final design and site location of the monument. The other two commissioners on the Commissioners Court are Dana Macalik, Precinct 2, and John Stacy, Precinct 4. The American History & Heritage Foundation, led by Christian nationalist activist Jason Rapert, donated the stand-alone structure.
Liechty spoke at the monument’s unveiling ceremony, professing, “It is appropriate that during this 250th Anniversary of our Nation’s founding, Rockwall County will erect a monument to display the Ten Commandments. May God bless America, the State of Texas, and our wonderful Rockwall County!” This aligns with the Trump administration’s efforts to redefine the nation’s 250th anniversary as a celebration of the Christian nationalist myth that the United States was founded as a Christian nation. Several Christian pastors also appeared at the ceremony, which opened and closed with prayer.
Mike Berry of the Plano, Texas-based theocratic First Liberty Institute spoke at the ceremony, declaiming, “Displaying the Ten Commandments on public grounds in Texas is consistent with Supreme Court decisions that recognize our religious heritage and the best of the nation’s history and traditions.” Berry appears to be referring to a 2005 Supreme Court decision that approved a Ten Commandments monument at the Texas Capitol because it was part of a larger set of displays highlighting “people, ideals, and events that compose Texan identity” and conveyed both a religious and a secular message. The high court has not approved a stand-alone Ten Commandments monument. In fact, also in 2005, the Supreme Court deemed two standalone Ten Commandments monuments at Kentucky courthouses unconstitutional.
Texas’ Tarrant County has erected a Ten Commandments monument outside its courthouse earlier this year, too, part of a growing Christian nationalist initiative to have local governments commemorate Christian doctrine across Texas and the nation.
The Rockwall monument uses the King James Bible translation and contains nothing that could convey a secular message. Many of the displayed commandments are purely religious directives with no basis in American law or history. The monument violates the First Amendment and the rights of conscience of Rockwall County residents while distorting American history. The Freedom From Religion Foundation has sent a letter to the Commissioners Court regarding the monument.
The FFRF Action Fund reprimands the commissioners for their unanimous approval of the Christian nationalist endeavor and calls on Rockwall County to honor the First Amendment and remove its Christian monument.
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.