The Mojave Cross

Litigation regarding the cross on Sunrise Rock:

January 19, 2011: On January 10, 2011, attorneys at the Liberty Institute, which represents the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 385 in Barstow, filed suit over ownership of the former site of the Mojave cross. The perceived refusal to expediently transfer ownership to VFW, of a one-acre parcel in Mojave National Preserve, has delayed the replacement of the cross stolen in May 2010. Larry Whalon, Acting Superintendent at Mojave National Preserve, indicates the National Park Service is moving forward with the land transfer pending receipt of instructions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.      

June 3, 2010: At issue in the Buono case is a 2004 Act of Congress that directed the Secretary of the Interior to transfer to the Veterans of Foreign Wars a parcel of land known as Sunrise Rock in Mojave National Preserve. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's order enjoining the government from implementing that Act. On April 28, 2010, the Supreme Court reversed. The Ninth Circuit received the Supreme Court's judgment on June 2, 2010. We anticipate that the Ninth Circuit will remand the case to the district court, where we will continue to defend the 2004 Act.

For more information on the cross case legal history click here.

The district court's original injunction prohibiting the display of a cross on Sunrise Rock is still in effect.

The Sunrise Rock cross was recently stolen, and the National Park Service is investigating that crime. Unidentified individuals erected a replica of the cross on Sunrise Rock, and the National Park Service removed that replica to comply with the district court's injunction and National Park Service regulations. It is the United States' position that, once the land transfer is complete and the Veterans of Foreign Wars owns Sunrise Rock, it may erect a replica of the cross if it so desires.

 

 

 April 24, 2012: The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California approved a settlement agreement yesterday between the Department of Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union to exchange an acre of land at Sunrise Rock for a donated parcel of equal value. The Sunrise Rock parcel will be conveyed to the Veterans Home of California-Barstow, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #385E.

Approval of the agreement completes court action on the settlement. The next step is to move forward with the land exchange. A required survey of the one-acre site is complete. Appraisals of both parcels in the exchange will occur in the next few months. The National Park Service expects to complete the land exchange before the end of the year.

After the land exchange is complete, the National Park Service will install a fence around the parcel with signs indicating that the plot is private property. Two entrance areas will remain unfenced to allow access. The National Park Service will install a plaque on Sunrise Rock describing this memorial commemorating American war veterans.

No cross can legally be displayed until the land exchange is complete.