Conservative commentator Todd Starnes was arrested this morning for vandalizing the Washington Monument in protest of a Latin phrase inscribed on top.
The Fox News contributor and monolingual English speaker was stopped by police around 5:30 a.m. after he reportedly was caught spray painting the words “Praise be to God” on the side of the Washington Monument, with an arrow pointing up toward the phrase “Laus deo,” which is inscribed on the eastern side of the apex.
Starnes reportedly told police that he was “protesting the war on English” as highlighted by a recent Coca-Cola commercial. He said he took it upon himself to translate “Laus deo” into English so that “native-born Americans could read it.”
Starnes was charged with vandalism and released on bail a few hours later.
I no speako Latino
Starnes, an outspoken social conservative and culture warrior, joined in the recent furore over a Coca-Cola commercial aired during the Super Bowl in which “America the Beautiful” was sung in seven different languages, including English, Spanish, Hebrew, Hindi and Arabic.
“Couldn't make out that song they were singing. I only speak English,” Starnes wrote on Twitter. He also claimed Coca-Cola was promoting illegal immigrants and wrote a tweet in Spanish: "Dear Coca Cola, is it politically incorrect to sing America the Beautiful in the language it was written in?"
When reached by phone, Starnes was unapologetic about his actions this morning.
“Why the hell would they write ‘Praise be to God’ in Latin instead of English?” Starnes said. “This is America, not Latin America. We are Christians. We speak English. God should be honored in English, the official language of church.”
Starnes said he was visiting the Washington Monument this week when he learned about its Latin phrase.
“I was thinking about that horrible Coca-Cola ad that was in Indian, French and Muslim when I heard the Washington Monument has Latin crap written on it,” he said. “It’s bad enough that our own soldiers have to learn Latin thanks to all the illegal Latinos, but on our national monuments? No thanks.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Park Police, which oversees federal monuments, said a cleanup crew was working to remove the spray paint from the monument, which may cost an estimated $25,000.
Starnes said he was unconcerned about the potential cost to taxpayers.
“Money means absolutely nothing to me,” Starnes said. “Did you realize there are foreign languages on our money? E pluribus unum? I just noticed that this morning.
“Now I hear our state mottos are in Latin. It’s like America suddenly became a multicultural hellhole overnight.”
Starnes claimed he is the victim in this case.
“Do you know my lawyer said my arrest and detention was legal because of something called a writ of habeas corpus? What the f**k does that mean? Has the whole country gone crazy?”
