U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson of Montgomery, who has ruled the 5,300-pound monument violates the constitutional ban on government promotion of religion, lifted a stay he had previously issued while Moore appealed.

Moore, whose stand was rejected by an appeals court, has said he plans to turn to the U.S. Supreme Court with his argument that the monument should remain in the judicial building.

Thompson's ruling came a day after Moore filed a curt, two-paragraph brief with the court, claiming that Thompson did not have the authority to make him remove the black granite monument. Moore contends Alabama's constitution permits the acknowledgement of god by the state and that the federal court ...