When anti-American criminals tear down our statues, deface our monuments, or burn our flag, we must hold them to account for their vile actions. This past week, anti-American criminals defaced the Washington D.C. replica of the Liberty Bell in the name of violence and hatred, writing “Hamas is coming” and other far more vulgar statements.

In 1776, when our Founding Fathers first declared independence from Great Britain, a bell in the tower of what would later be called Independence Hall rang out to summon the citizens of Philadelphia to gather. They would hear for the very first time the Declaration of Independence read aloud in public.

Colonel John Nixon, who was in command of the Philadelphia city guard, read aloud those immortal words, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Inspired by those words, Americans fought and died to defend them and to make them true here at home. In the decades and centuries since, many nations around the world have been similarly inspired, taking to heart that simple yet revolutionary claim “that all men are created equal.”

The bell that rung that day became a symbol of the liberty that the Declaration of Independence proclaimed: the Liberty Bell. Inscribed on the bell is the beautiful phrase, “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”

In Washington D.C., the center of the federal government that the Declaration proclaims was instituted “to secure these rights,” a replica of the Liberty Bell was installed so that the leaders of our nation would never forget the purpose for which they hold elected office.

11 years after the Liberty Bell rang out to herald the reading of the Declaration of Independence, it rang again for another solemn occasion: the signing of the United States Constitution. Although it wasn’t in the original text, that Constitution established the First Amendment, which provided for “the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” It created no right to violently protest, deface public property, or espouse violence and genocide against an entire people.

Symbols have meaning, not merely because they exist, but because of what they symbolize. Statues honoring our leaders matter, not because they were better than anyone else, but because of the importance of their actions and what they symbolize.

The Liberty Bell symbolizes perhaps the two most important political documents ever written. In fact, the only document that I hold in higher regard is the Bible itself. In so defacing it, these criminals rejected the foundational truths that those documents proclaim. They defaced not just a bell, but the core principles that make the United States of America more than just a shape on a map – the principles that make us the greatest nation the world has ever known.

The American colonists were fighting for their right to exist as a free and independent nation. Today, the Israeli people are similarly fighting for their right to exist. And these pro-Hamas, anti-American criminals want them wiped off the face of the earth.

South Dakota will not stand for it. We will continue to speak out against hate. We will continue to proclaim the blessings of America. And we will forever celebrate “that all men are created equal” – and protect it with everything that we have.