Watch CBS News

Cross along Maryland highway violates Constitution, court says

RICHMOND, Va. -- A federal appeals court has found that a towering cross on a Maryland state highway median just outside Washington, D.C., violates the U.S. Constitution. 

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Richmond ruled Wednesday that the 92-year-old monument known as the Bladensburg cross amounts to government sponsorship of a particular religion. The court overturned a 2016 ruling that said it was meant mostly as a secular commemoration of World War I. 

The marble-and-cement cross was built in 1925 to honor 49 men from Prince George's County who died in World War I.  

The American Humanist Association said the 40-foot tall cross endorses Christianity while ignoring non-Christian veterans. 

The 4th Circuit said it "excessively entangles the government in religion" because the cross is the "core symbol of Christianity" and "breaches" the wall separating church and state.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.