LONDON—Police in southwestern England say a man arrested on suspicion of attempting to steal the Magna Carta from Salisbury Cathedral has been released on bail.
Wiltshire police said on Oct. 27, the 45-year-old man had been bailed until Nov. 20 as officers continue their investigation.
Cathedral employees on Thursday wrestled a hammer-wielding man to the ground after he attempted to smash a glass case and steal the treasured manuscript from the Chapter House of the building. A second layer of glass prevented the document from being damaged.
Salisbury Cathedral’s Magna Carta is one of four existing specimens of the 1215 charter that established the principle that the king is subject to the law. It is considered the founding document of English law and influenced the creation of the U.S. Constitution.
