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Maryland AG Challenges Large Cross in PG County

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Maryland's attorney general is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve a cross-shaped memorial on public land which serves to honor the men killed in World War I.

The Washington Post reports Attorney General Brian Frosh filed a brief in the case, which challenges the constitutionality of the 40-foot-tall (12-meter) cross in Prince George's County. The cross sits in a median at an intersection in Bladensburg and is maintained with taxpayer funds.

The court has not decided whether to take the case.

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan wrote a letter Friday saying the brief moves the state one step closer to "having the wrongs of lower court decisions righted by the Supreme Court."

The Washington-based American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit saying religious symbolism on public land violates the First Amendment.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.