While vandalism should not be condoned
Translation "Vandalism should not be condoned... except when it benefit my beliefs."
these recent events shed light on what some Americans will do when they feel that their freedom of speech is threatened.
And just who's freedom of speech was threatened by a billboard proclaiming that atheists do in fact exist?
Yet he failed to mention the concerted effort of atheist groups to stop religious Americans from freely exercising their religion.
Name a single atheist group that has ever tried to stop any american from believing in whatever religion that they want to?
Not content with having the freedom themselves to worship or not as they see fit
Not when there are people not unlike yourself who seek to not only wish to legislate your religious beliefs on others, but to use police power of a self proclaimed secular government to do so. The very second that the law grants greater access or favor to one religion above others the freedom of religion ensured by the constitution will cease to exist.
militant atheists increasingly seek to shackle the beliefs of their fellow citizens through their own distorted interpretation of "separation of church and state."
How is the interetation of speration of church and state distorted when the founders clearly laid out the meaning behind it? Moreover, the central fact you are ignoring is that the is no atheist or atheist group who is trying to take away anyones freedom to follow whatever religion they choose. Your problem is that you want atheists to have to hide their lack of belief lest some poor unfortunate christian be offended.
It is perhaps not surprising that some of those fellow citizens object
They are free to object, even publically if they are so inclined. But thats not the issue here though, is it? The issue here is that some self righteous christian decided to take it upon him/her self to violate the free speech of others simply because he/she disagreed with them.
That being the case, tell me again whose freedom of speech is being threatened, the people who put up a billboard saying to like minded people "Hey, you are not alone.", or was it the person whose actions say "If you dare to disagree with me then you will be silenced!"