BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – By a unanimous vote of 7-0, Alabama's highest court refused to reinstate former Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was expelled from office by not following the federal court’s order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from a courthouse, Friday, April 30.
"We conclude that the judgment of the Court of the Judiciary is fully supported by clear and convincing evidence, as is the sanction it imposed of removing Chief Justice Moore from office," the court wrote.
"The elected representatives of the people, the eight associate justices of the Alabama Supreme Court, hid behind the robes of an illegally appointed, politically selected court," Moore said in a statement. "It is political in nature. This is about the acknowledgment of God and many judges can't admit they are wrong and that they can enter unlawful orders."
Although he was rejected by the highest court, Moore is not giving in what he believes. On Friday evening, Moore spoke to the "Blessings of Liberty" rally at the Palmetto Expo Center in Greenville, South Carolina, and expressed his is not sorry for what he did.
"The acknowledgement of God is not a violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution," Moore said. "But that's exactly what the federal courts are taking from our land piece by piece."
He said his monument is no different than presidents being sworn in with their hand on the Bible or Congress and the Supreme Court opening their sessions with prayer.
"The blessings of liberty that we celebrate tonight came from God, not from government," Moore said.
In a news conference before the event, Moore said he has no plans to run for any political office.
Dick Jensen, president of First Foundations, Inc., a local nonprofit organization that sponsored the rally said the program was not a fund-raiser, either for Moore or for First Foundations.
"We do this to draw public attention to the importance of the Constitution and specifically the blessings of the Bill of Rights," Jensen said. "And this time, because of the nature of the speaker, we're emphasizing the Ten Commandments as the moral foundation of society."
Moore's case has made a big mark in Christian history in the U.S. as he opened up a national debate on the role of religion in public life, mobilizing thousands of Christians to rally to consider legislation to protect Ten Commandments display.
