DES MOINES, Iowa (LifeSiteNews) — A Christian Navy veteran is facing a hate crime charge after he destroyed a Satanic Temple idol set up at the Iowa State Capitol.
Polk County prosecutors upgraded the charge against Michael Cassidy to a hate crime felony charge.
“Mr. Cassidy dismantled the Baphomet Altar on December 14 at the Iowa State Capitol and destroyed the headpiece, according to an Iowa State Patrol report,” the attorney’s office stated in a news release Tuesday. “Based on information from the victims, the cost to replace or repair the property is between $750 and $1,500. That amount would make the offense third-degree criminal mischief, an aggravated misdemeanor, according to Iowa Code Section 716.5.”
The display was set up near a Nativity scene at the state capitol. While some Republicans, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, criticized the display others, like Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, said it had to stay up and that the answer to the Satanic display was more free speech.
“In addition, evidence shows the defendant made statements to law enforcement and the public indicating he destroyed the property because of the victim’s religion,” the attorney’s office stated. “That enhances the charge to third-degree criminal mischief in violation of individual rights, a class D felony, according to Iowa Code Section 729A.2.”
READ: Satanic idol at Iowa state Capitol destroyed by Christian military veteran
Cassidy faces up to five years in prison for his actions and/or thousands of dollars in fines if convicted. He will be arraigned on February 15.
The Navy veteran, who is from Mississippi, has previously stated he was motivated by his religion to tear down the idol.
“The world may tell Christians to submissively accept the legitimization of Satan, but none of the founders would have considered government sanction of Satanic altars inside Capitol buildings as protected by the First Amendment,” Cassidy told Christian publication The Sentinel. “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.”
“I saw this blasphemous statue and was outraged,” Cassidy said in December last year. “My conscience is held captive to the word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted.”
Conservatives were quick to rally to his side, raising more than $80,000 for his legal defense on GiveSendGo.
Many conservatives also criticized the hate crime charges.
“Satanism is literally evil. It is not a ‘hate crime’ to destroy a statue dedicated to evil,” Anglican priest Calvin Robinson wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
“Putting up a statue of Satan in the first place seems closer to a hate crime than beheading a statue dedicated to hate, evil and lies by definition,” conservative commentator John Hawkins wrote.
“A hate crime… against the Devil,” Babylon Bee Managing Editor Joel Berry wrote.
Others called on Governor Kim Reynolds and Attorney General Brenna Bird, both Republicans, to intervene.
Satanists’ claim to belong to a religion needs scrutiny
The claim that the Satanic Temple is a religion has been challenged by several legal experts.
Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, a legal analyst for EWTN, previously said the Satanic Temple is not a religious institution protected by the First Amendment.
“We have to avoid the temptation to want to abandon our free speech principles and think that opposing The Satanic Temple can only be done with censorship,” she told the Catholic News Agency. “I don’t believe it has to. I think that our principles of religious freedom and free speech actually weigh on the side of excluding mockery from our public places.”
“The first principles that support these core freedoms like religious freedom and free speech did not embrace a farce like The Satanic Temple is trying to put on display,” she said. “Nor does it protect irreligious mockery of these kinds of core and important celebrations.”
“The founders in particular, even those who weren’t particularly religious themselves, knew and spoke often about the importance of a religious people and that especially Christian virtues and ethics were key to a healthy citizenry,” she said.
Other legal experts have also challenged the claims of the Satanic Temple. The group seeks to create “After-School Satan” clubs at public schools, primarily to counteract Christian groups called Good News Clubs.
Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, stated in 2016 that the Satanists are actually atheists and don’t have viable equal access claims.
“The so-called Satanic Temple group is a handful of atheists masquerading as so-called Satanists. This group is not legitimate. Its only reason to exist is to oppose the Good News Clubs,” Staver previously stated. “The Good News Clubs teach morals, character development, patriotism and respect from a Christian viewpoint. Public schools welcome these clubs because they improve the behavior of the students and the Supreme Court has sided with these clubs.”
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