Christian and former military officer Michael Cassidy beheaded the controversial Satanic Temple statue at the Iowa State Capitol on Thursday, according to reports.
Cassidy allegedly pushed the Baphomet statue over before decapitating it.
The reaction to the statue at the Iowa State Capitol caused outrage after the Satanic Temple received permission.
Reports said the decapitated head was thrown in the trash.
According to the Sentinel, Cassidy said he destroyed the statue to “awaken Christians to the anti-Christian acts promoted by our government.”
A Christian veteran has torn down and beheaded the Satanic Temple Statue in the Iowa State Capitol, via @RepubSentinel pic.twitter.com/KJqo01Cki6
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) December 14, 2023
“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.”
Police later arrested Cassidy after he turned himself into an officer who was present in the building.
The Satanic Temple of Iowa said they plan to press charges for fourth-degree criminal mischief.
“I saw this blasphemous statue and was outraged,” Cassidy said.
“My conscience is held captive to the word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted.”
While the statue was reported to have been erected under the guise of “religious freedom,” it still caused massive t outrage in the state.
One Iowa lawmaker demanded that Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds remove it at once.
“I am calling for our governor to have this blasphemous display removed immediately based on the grounds that it is unconstitutional and offends God upon whom the State of Iowa depends for blessings,” Republican Brad Sherman said.
“I am calling for clarifying legislation to be adopted in accordance with our State Constitution that prohibits satanic displays in our Capitol building and on all state-owned property.”
“I am calling for legislation to be adopted that makes it legal to display the Ten Commandments in our Capitol, in all buildings owned by the state, and in our public schools,” he added.
The Satanic Temple describes itself as a non-theistic organization and claims it uses Satanic imagery to “encourage benevolence.”
The organization said on its website:
“The mission of The Satanic Temple is to encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice, and undertake noble pursuits.”
Recently, the Satanic Temple cited the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to overturn a set of pro-life laws in Missouri.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear it.
READ: Satanic Temple Makes Drag Shows A “Satanic Ritual” to “Affirm Gender-Expression”
