A monolith stands on a Stadium Park hillside in Atascadero, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2020. A new group show in New York shows off even more monoliths.
A monolith stands on a Stadium Park hillside in Atascadero, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2020. Kaytlyn Leslie, The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo) via Associated Press
Herb Scribner

By Herb Scribner

The mysterious monolith in California was recently torn down and replaced with a cross, The Guardian reports.

What happened

A group of young men — who said they were Christians — said they tore down the mysterious California monolith and replaced with a cross.

  • The monolith — seen near Atascadero, California, earlier this week — sparked interest due to its similarity to one in Utah, which was also taken down by a group of men.

The San Luis Obispo Tribune reports the group hiked up to the top of Pine Mountain and took down the monolith. They put up a homemade wooden cross in its place.

  • The video reportedly included the men making offensive comments and drinking energy drinks. The men also talk about President Donald Trump and the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Related
Mysterious monolith disappears from remote southeast Utah desert

Reaction

Atascadero’s mayor, Heather Moreno, said in a news release that residents in the area were upset that the monolith got taken down.

  • “We are upset that these young men felt the need to drive five hours to come into our community and vandalize the monolith. The monolith was something unique and fun in an otherwise stressful time.”

Context

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A team of biologists in a helicopter above the Utah wilderness noticed a mysterious monolith in the remote wilderness. The monolith went viral soon after. Another one appeared in Romania soon after. Then, the California one showed up, too.

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