Alleged monument vandal pleads not guilty

A man accused of vandalizing a Ten Commandments monument at the Flathead County Courthouse in Kalispell pleaded not guilty in Flathead District Court Thursday morning.

Anthony Craig Weimer, 30, of Columbia Falls appeared with his court-appointed attorney in front of District Judge Amy Eddy.

Weimer was initially jailed on $10,000 bail. He was released after posting the bond. He is charged with felony criminal mischief. His maximum sentence is 10 years in prison with a $50,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint against Weimer, callers reported the incident June 27. They described a man driving white �dually� pickup who had pulled down the Ten Commandments granite tablet and it was partially in the road at 800 South Main St.

Kalispell Police officers saw the stone in the street and damage to the face of the stone. A county maintenance employee said repair costs would be more than $1,500.

An officer spoke to a caller the next day, June 28. The man said he saw a man attach a tow chain around the stone and used the truck to pull it down.

The man also followed the white truck until a police officer made a traffic stop on the vehicle. The man described a man consistent with Weimer at the time he was stopped by police.

According to an Associated Press report, Weimer was one of three boys accused in 2003 of setting fires, vandalism and thefts. He was charged in Youth Court. Police said then the boys set one fire that caused $50,000 damage to a home under construction. Others burned open land, while one was set at a home in which the occupant was sleeping.

The trio was also accused of stealing several items, primarily cellphones, in a spree from August to September. Court documents list 13 victims.

The granite monument is currently in storage.

Other smaller granite monuments that flank the Ten Commandments monument were not damaged, according to Kalispell Police Officer Chad Fetveit. Those monuments commemorate the Montana Constitution, U.S. Constitution, U.S. Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta and Mayflower Compact.

A Helena man, Holger Meyer, recently began a gofundme.com page to raise money for Weimer�s legal defense, hoping to raise $5,000. One person pledged $10 seven days ago.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com