Larry Northern, 59, of McLennan County, was charged Tuesday with Criminal Mischief Over $1,500 and under $20,000 after a pickup truck tore through a row of white crosses erected by anti-war protesters gathered near the President’s ranch in Crawford.
Bail was set at $3,000. Northern later posted bond and was released.
The crosses bear the names of U.S. military personnel who have died in the war in Iraq.
Witnesses said the driver swerved the truck in and out of the makeshift memorial Monday night.
The protesters who are camped out in Crawford expressed outrage at the vandalism.
Cindy Sheehan, the California woman around whom the protesters have rallied since Aug. 6, is the focal point of national controversy.
She is demanding a meeting with the President about the death of her son Casey, a 1st Cavalry Division soldier who was killed last year in Iraq.
“Our hearts are broken about this,” Sheehan said in a prepared statement about the destruction of the crosses released Tuesday afternoon.
“ We continue to work closely with local law enforcement offices and the secret service to be good neighbors,” she said.
