Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he will support the legal defense of a Mississippi man charged with vandalizing The Satanic Temple's display inside the Iowa State Capitol building.
Michael Cassidy, 35, a former congressional candidate from Lauderdale, Miss., was charged on Thursday with fourth-degree criminal mischief, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety. The charge carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $2,560 fine.
Cassidy, a Christian and former military officer, said in an interview with The Republic Sentinel that he tore down and beheaded a statue of Baphomet, a ram-headed figure often used to represent Satan, that was part of an altar erected by the temple inside the Capitol.
A display installed by the Satanic Temple Iowa is seen at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. A man seated in front of the display prays in Latin. (Caleb McCullough/Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau)
The Satanic Temple of Iowa issued a statement on Facebook Thursday saying its display had been “destroyed beyond repair.”
The display, which was permitted for two weeks under state rules that permit religious installations, has sparked outrage and national debate and calls from Republicans for its removal. Others have argued the display is religious expression protected by the First Amendment.
In a statement Tuesday, Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said she disagrees with the display but implored opponents to engage in speech and prayer, rather than remove the display.
DeSantis posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter: “Satan has no place in our society and should not be recognized as a ‘religion’ by the federal government. I'll chip in to contribute to this veteran's legal defense fund. Good prevails over evil — that's the American spirit.”
A crowdfunding campaign was launched for Cassidy's legal fund, which raised more than $20,000 in less than three hours before being paused, and included a $10,000 pledge from conservative activist group Turning Point USA.
Cassidy posted on X that he had reopened the fund after being “notified of more potential legal charges.”
Cassidy, in his interview with The Sentinel, which said it sponsored the crowdfunding campaign, said he destroyed the satanic altar to "awaken Christians to the anti-Christian acts promoted by our government."
"Anti-Christian values have steadily been mainstreamed more and more in recent decades, and Christians have largely acted like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot of water,“ he told the publication.
Cassidy previously ran for a Mississippi congressional seat in 2022, losing by a wide margin to Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., in the primary.
The non-theistic religious organization does not believe in or worship Satan but uses satanic imagery to promote skepticism and curiosity and as a symbol representing "the eternal rebel" against arbitrary authority and social norms, according to its website.
The Satanic Temple says it’s members “believe in reason, empathy, the pursuit of knowledge.”
The tenets portrayed on the statue, the group said, advocate “for bodily autonomy, a rejection of arbitrary authority, recognizing our own fallibility, and inspiring nobility in thought and action, which we hope enlightens the viewer to our beliefs and inspires one to reflect upon their own approach to the world.”
The Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers condemned the vandalism in a news release and accused Republican elected officials, including Reynolds, of encouraging it.
“Despite First Amendment protections and a clear-cut case of equal access and protection under the law, the Satanic Temple display was destroyed this week,” Jason Benell, president of the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers, wrote in a statement. “Not only was that display targeted, but it was also targeted specifically by Christians, for sectarian religious reasons. This targeting was encouraged by legislators and even had the Iowa Governor, Kim Reynolds, calling it ‘evil.’ This is unacceptable.”
Benell added: “When our leaders make it permissible to destroy religious — or non-religious- displays they find religiously objectionable, they are abdicating their responsibility to safeguard the freedom of expression of the citizens they represent.”
www.thegazette.com
Michael Cassidy, 35, a former congressional candidate from Lauderdale, Miss., was charged on Thursday with fourth-degree criminal mischief, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety. The charge carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $2,560 fine.
Cassidy, a Christian and former military officer, said in an interview with The Republic Sentinel that he tore down and beheaded a statue of Baphomet, a ram-headed figure often used to represent Satan, that was part of an altar erected by the temple inside the Capitol.
A display installed by the Satanic Temple Iowa is seen at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. A man seated in front of the display prays in Latin. (Caleb McCullough/Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau)
The Satanic Temple of Iowa issued a statement on Facebook Thursday saying its display had been “destroyed beyond repair.”
The display, which was permitted for two weeks under state rules that permit religious installations, has sparked outrage and national debate and calls from Republicans for its removal. Others have argued the display is religious expression protected by the First Amendment.
In a statement Tuesday, Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said she disagrees with the display but implored opponents to engage in speech and prayer, rather than remove the display.
DeSantis posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter: “Satan has no place in our society and should not be recognized as a ‘religion’ by the federal government. I'll chip in to contribute to this veteran's legal defense fund. Good prevails over evil — that's the American spirit.”
A crowdfunding campaign was launched for Cassidy's legal fund, which raised more than $20,000 in less than three hours before being paused, and included a $10,000 pledge from conservative activist group Turning Point USA.
Cassidy posted on X that he had reopened the fund after being “notified of more potential legal charges.”
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Cassidy, in his interview with The Sentinel, which said it sponsored the crowdfunding campaign, said he destroyed the satanic altar to "awaken Christians to the anti-Christian acts promoted by our government."
"Anti-Christian values have steadily been mainstreamed more and more in recent decades, and Christians have largely acted like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot of water,“ he told the publication.
Cassidy previously ran for a Mississippi congressional seat in 2022, losing by a wide margin to Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., in the primary.
The non-theistic religious organization does not believe in or worship Satan but uses satanic imagery to promote skepticism and curiosity and as a symbol representing "the eternal rebel" against arbitrary authority and social norms, according to its website.
The Satanic Temple says it’s members “believe in reason, empathy, the pursuit of knowledge.”
The tenets portrayed on the statue, the group said, advocate “for bodily autonomy, a rejection of arbitrary authority, recognizing our own fallibility, and inspiring nobility in thought and action, which we hope enlightens the viewer to our beliefs and inspires one to reflect upon their own approach to the world.”
The Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers condemned the vandalism in a news release and accused Republican elected officials, including Reynolds, of encouraging it.
“Despite First Amendment protections and a clear-cut case of equal access and protection under the law, the Satanic Temple display was destroyed this week,” Jason Benell, president of the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers, wrote in a statement. “Not only was that display targeted, but it was also targeted specifically by Christians, for sectarian religious reasons. This targeting was encouraged by legislators and even had the Iowa Governor, Kim Reynolds, calling it ‘evil.’ This is unacceptable.”
Benell added: “When our leaders make it permissible to destroy religious — or non-religious- displays they find religiously objectionable, they are abdicating their responsibility to safeguard the freedom of expression of the citizens they represent.”
DeSantis to assist man charged with beheading Satanic Temple statue
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he will support the legal defense of a Mississippi man charged with vandalizing The Satanic Temple's display inside the Iowa State Capitol building.
www.thegazette.com
