US: An Alabama judge has defied a federal court order to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of a public building, setting the stage for penalties to be levied against the Bible Belt state.
The granite monument remained on display in the state judicial building as a court-imposed deadline of midnight on Wednesday passed, following a day of prayer and singing by supporters who vowed to continue their vigil at the site.
Earlier in the day, the US Supreme Court rejected a request by Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore for a last-minute stay to block a federal judge's order to remove it.
"The US Supreme Court's denial of a stay today will not deter me from continuing to fight for the right of our state to acknowledge God as the moral foundation of our law," Mr Moore said in a statement read by his spokesman.
Mr Tom Parker, the spokesman, said the monument would be guarded by security personnel yesterday. He said Alabama's top judge plans to ask the US high court "for an appeal on the merits" in the case.
Mr Moore, the elected chief justice of Alabama's highest court, has fought since 2001 to keep the two-tonne biblical display in the court building in Montgomery, Alabama's capital, saying he regards the commandments as a symbol of the Judeo-Christian foundation of US law.
A federal judge in the Bible Belt state had ordered the monument's removal on the grounds it violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
If Alabama continues to refuse to comply, it could face fines of about $5,000 for each day that the monument remains in public view. Those fines could double after the first week.
The Alabama Attorney General, Mr Bill Pryor, has vowed to obey the court order, but Mr Moore's supporters have shown equal determination to prevent any effort to move the monument.
Throughout the day, hundreds prayed and sang outside the building, vowing to hold vigils for the next few days. After the high court refused to act, about 20 protesters were handcuffed by police and led away from the monument after ignoring officials' request to leave.
"We will not give up our allegiance to our creator who gave us liberty," said former presidential candidate Mr Alan Keyes.
Mr Moore has won support among fundamentalists for championing public displays of the Ten Commandments.
Critics liken Mr Moore to former Alabama Governor George Wallace, who made a famed "stand in the schoolhouse door" to oppose court orders to integrate the state's schools. Civil liberties groups have denounced Mr Moore for using his office to impose his religious views.
The granite monument has been on public display since July 2001, when Mr Moore and a small band of supporters had it moved secretly into the judicial building.
In a ruling late last year, US District Judge Myron Thompson agreed with civil liberties activists who had filed a lawsuit objecting to the display. Judge Thompson imposed the August 20th deadline for its removal.
The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta upheld that decision, prompting Mr Moore to make his unsuccessful plea to the Supreme Court.
Mr Moore waged a legal fight in the 1990s to keep a small hand-carved plaque bearing the commandments on display in his courtroom. He left for higher office before a legal decision on the issue.