Gov. Abbott orders removal of mock nativity scene featuring Founding Fathers, Bill of Rights

Gov. Greg Abbott has succeeded in getting a holiday display featuring some American Founding Fathers and the Bill of Rights in a manger removed from the Texas Capitol.

The “winter solstice” display was created by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which promotes the separation of church and state.

It showed Benjamin Franklin, the Statue of Liberty, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington peering down at the Bill of Rights, and was approved for display by the State Preservation Board.

Christmas trees and other holiday decorations are displayed at the Capitol.

But the manger scene was removed Tuesday after Abbott called it a “juvenile parody” whose figures represented a “replacement for Jesus Christ.”

Abbott recently urged Orange, Texas, to keep a traditional city hall nativity scene amid opponents’ threats of legal challenges.