A monument of the Ten Commandments, whose presence on the grounds of the Oklahoma Capitol had been deemed unconstitutional by the state's Supreme Court, was removed and relocated to private property late Monday night.

Oklahoma taxpayers footed the $4,700 bill to remove the granite installation and move it outside the offices of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a conservative think tank, a few blocks away, the Associated Press reported.

Office of Management and Enterprise Services spokesman John Estus told the newswire that the call to remove the monument shortly after 10:30 p.m. was made to avoid disturbing Capitol workers and to keep potential protesters from demonstrating while heavy equipment was in use.

"We wanted it to be done as quickly and efficiently as possible, and doing it at night gave us the best opportunity to do that," Estus explained.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court had ruled in late June that the display violated a provision in the state constitution prohibiting use of state property to promote "any sect, church, denomination or system of religion," according to the Oklahoman. Oklahoma County Judge Thomas Prince then ordered that the monument be taken down by Oct. 12.

The privately funded display had originally been approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2009. When it was installed on the Capitol grounds, Bruce Prescott, a Baptist minister, sued the state over what he viewed as a violation of Oklahoma's constitution, the AP detailed.

"Frankly, I'm glad we finally got the governor and attorney general to agree to let the monument be moved to private property, which is where I believe it's most appropriate," Prescott said on Monday. "I'm not opposed to the Ten Commandments. ... I'm just opposed to it being on public property."

But former state Rep. Mike Reynolds, a Republican, told the Oklahoman that the court-ordered removal should serve as a wake-up call for voters.

"I think that today is an excellent day to expose the hypocrisy in our state government, whether it's the Supreme Court, the attorney general or the governor's office making bad decisions, he said. "It's time for citizens to start looking for ways to change the process."