WEST UNION, Ohio -- About 30 people were taken into police custody Monday after protesting the attempted removal of Ten Commandments tablets, but most were released without being charged.

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One person was arrested, however, and that was the Rev. Bill Ryan, who was carried from the scene at Peebles High School by several Adams County deputies, Cincinnati TV station WLWT reported.

A judge ruled last year that the Ten Commandments had to be removed on the first business day after the end of the 2002-03 school year for the Adams County/Ohio Valley School District, WLWT reported.

"It's a little heartbreaking," protestor Terry Lewis said. "Our children and grandchildren have the right to read those commandments at any time they want."

In some cases Monday, church members watched their pastors go into custody, WLWT reported. Sharon Fulton, wife of the Rev. Phil Fulton, said she never dreamed she'd see her husband in the back of a police cruiser.

"I think our rights are being taken away, just for the sake of one person, who's a small minority of people," she said.

The one person is Barry Baker, who initiated the legal battle in 1999, WLWT reported. He came Monday with camera in hand, hoping to record the images of large cranes removing the 800-pound tablets from the grounds at Peebles.

But as the protesters refused to budge, local officers began to wonder if they had jurisdiction to enforce a federal court order. Baker told WLWT his reasoning for wanting the tablets removed.

"We have laws here," he said. "(The tablets) are immoral."

The empty space where from which the Ten Commandments stone was lifted has been filled with a temporary sign that reads, "I Shall Return." WLWT reported that there are some appeals processes available to the protesters, so it's possible the tablets could return some day.

All four tablets were removed by Monday evening from Peebles, West Union, North Adams and Manchester high schools.

Protesters, sheriff's deputies and school officials prayed together after the last monument was loaded on a truck and driven away.

"These people are religious people and don't want to cause me or anyone else trouble," Sheriff Kermit Howard said. "We're just here because there's a court order."