Around a week after the Satanic Temple of Iowa installed a Baphomet figure inside the Iowa State Capitol as part of a Christmas display, the statue was destroyed after a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot and a former Republican candidate destroyed the altar set up by the nontheistic religious group.
TST Iowa's Capitol holiday display was destroyed, but they're determined to rebuild & committed to religious freedom. Help The Satanic Temple replace the display, cover legal costs, & support religious freedom.
Donate today at https://t.co/6Z5uejV9w1. pic.twitter.com/BvXye72f1K— The Satanic Temple (@satanic_temple_) December 16, 2023
35-year-old Michael Cassidy of Lauderdale, Mississippi, was arrested and charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief, the Iowa Department of Public Safety said on December 15th. He was released shortly after his arrest.
Reports by media outlets such as The Sentinel said that Cassidy pushed over and “decapitated” the statue of Baphomet and threw the head into the trash. He also tore down the remaining parts of the display, which The Satanic Temple said in a Facebook post on December 14th “was destroyed beyond repair,” although parts of the display remain.
Former Mississippi congressional and legislative candidate arrested in Iowa for beheading Satanic Temple statue
Michael Cassidy is being hailed as a Christian hero for decapitating a Satanic statue. He has been charged with criminal mischief.https://t.co/uk8AitGnf8— Magnolia Tribune (@magnoliatribune) December 15, 2023
Cassidy said he destroyed the display, which the Satanic Temple of Iowa was permitted to be displayed within the premises of the state capitol for two weeks, to "awaken Christians to the anti-Christian acts promoted by our government."
"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 said.
"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 added.
The former Navy fighter pilot and a pilot instructor, who ran but lost to Democratic Keith Jackson in a race to represent District 45 in the Mississippi House of Representatives last November, turned himself to officers present in the State Capitol. The Satanic Temple of Iowa is reportedly seeking to press charges against him.
In his campaign website, which remains active, Cassidy described himself as a “Christian conservative who loves our nation and is committed to preserving the blessings of liberty bestowed upon us by the Founding generation.”
First amendment for me, but not for thee.
— (@cindymeekbrown) December 15, 2023
The Christmas display set up by the Satanic Temple of Iowa was located on the eastern side of the State Capitol beside a column and an ornate staircase. The installation, just 100 feet away from the Christmas tree in the Capitol’s rotunda, captured Cassidy’s attention last week.
He also reposted a message on X, which showed a photo of a Thomas Jefferson statue being removed from an unspecified location and a picture of the Christmas display set up by the Satanic Temple of Iowa inside the State Capitol.
He most certainly is a hero. He had the courage to resist evil. God bless him.
— David (@Dabitsuto) December 15, 2023
“We have reached the point where our Capitols are removing Jefferson while monuments to Satan are erected,” the post read.
A fund was set up for Cassidy’s legal defense after his arrest. But he announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the fundraising was halted after it raised $20,000. However, after learning that the Satanic Temple of Iowa will press charges against him, Cassidy wrote on X that he has “been notified of more potential legal charges, unfortunately, so I’ve opened the legal fund donation back up.”
