The Georgia Guidestones Bombing
The Georgia Guidestones started with ten commandments carved in granite: maintain humanity under 500 million, guide reproduction wisely, unite humanity with a living new language.
An anonymous man paid Elberton Granite $100,000 in 1980 to build this monument to his vision of post-apocalyptic society. He used the alias R.C. Christian and claimed to represent a small group of Americans.
The 19-foot structure became a pilgrimage site for New Age believers and a target for Christian fundamentalists who saw Satan’s work.
After four decades of heated debate, someone settled the argument with explosives on July 6, 2022.
Here’s the story of that pre-dawn attack, plus what remains today.
The Explosion and Escape
A loud blast woke people living near the Georgia Guidestones at 4:00 a.m. on July 6, 2022. The explosion destroyed the Swahili/Hindi panel, leaving chunks of granite all over the ground.
After setting the bomb, the person jumped into a silver car with a sunroof. The vehicle sped away from Highway 77 right after the explosion.
Security cameras at the site recorded the whole thing.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation shared this video with the public, hoping to find the bomber.
The Immediate Response
Elbert County sheriff’s deputies rushed to the scene after getting emergency calls. They blocked off the area and called the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for help.
Police surrounded what was left of the monument with yellow tape. Bomb experts checked for more explosives and picked up evidence from all around the blast area.
Destroying the Rest of the Guidestone
After looking at the damage, experts said the rest of the stones might fall on their own. By afternoon, workers brought in a backhoe and knocked down all the remaining stones.
For the investigation, local police teamed up with state agents to find who bombed the monument. They closed part of the highway while they worked at the scene.
The Potential Legal Consequences
District Attorney Parks White warned of harsh punishment for the bomber if caught. Because Elbert County took care of the Guidestones as public property, bombing them counts as attacking a public building.
This crime means at least 20 years in prison in Georgia. White called it “an act of domestic terrorism” in his public statements.
The Community Reaction
Elberton’s mayor felt heartbroken when he heard the news. The monument had shown off the town’s granite work for decades.
Many local businesses depend on the granite industry. People in town saw a link between the bombing and the wild theories about the stones that had spread online in recent years.
The Search for Time Capsule
While cleaning up, workers dug six feet under the monument’s base. The original plans mentioned a time capsule buried there, though no one knew for sure if it existed.
The stone had blank spaces where capsule dates should have been carved. They found nothing underground – one mystery solved, at least.
The Monument Today
At first, the mayor said they would rebuild the Guidestones exactly as before. He thought it might take six months to a year.
Many people seemed to support this plan right after the bombing. But by August, county officials had decided to give all the pieces to the Elberton Granite Association and return the land to its former owner.
Visiting Elberton Granite Museum, Georgia
You’ll find the former Georgia Guidestones site on Highway 77 in Elbert County, 7 miles north of downtown Elberton. The area now appears as an empty clearing where the monument once existed.
No official memorial marks the bombing spot, but you can walk the grounds freely. Many visitors leave small stones as remembrances.
For more context, check out the Elberton Granite Museum downtown, which displays fragments from the destroyed monument.
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