Former Congressional Candidate Destroys Satanic Altar at Iowa State Capitol: Report

Michael Cassidy, a former Congressional candidate and military officer, has destroyed a Satanic altar at the Iowa State Capitol by beheading a statue in it, according to a conservative news site and photos posted by influencers on X.

Cassidy went viral when the Republic Sentinel, a conservative news site, shared photos of the beheaded statue and wrote, “BREAKING: @RepubSentinel can reveal that Michael Cassidy, a Christian and former military officer, tore down and beheaded the Satan altar in the Iowa Capitol.” However, the article was not loading.

Cassidy has thanked people for their support on his X page.

According to USA Today, the Satanic Temple of Iowa “placed with state permission a small altar on the first floor of the Iowa State Capitol.”

The Post Millennial quoted Cassidy as telling the Republic Sentinel that he destroyed the altar on December 14 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, according to Post Millennial. “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.”

Here’s what you need to know:

A Conservative Group Is Pledging $10,000 to Michael Cassidy’s ‘Legal Defense Fund’

Charlie Kirk, of the group TurningPoint USA, wrote on X, “Michael Cassidy just beheaded a monument to Satan inside the Iowa State Capitol building. The Satanic Temple of Iowa is pressing charges and Cassidy is facing fourth-degree criminal mischief.”

He added, “Turning Point USA is proud to pledge $10,000 to his legal defense fund. We stand with Satan Slayer.”

According to The Post Millennial, “Cassidy previously ran for Congress in Mississippi and served as a Navy pilot.” Cassidy’s campaign website says he ran as a Republican.

Cassidy’s campaign bio reads:

I was born in Annapolis, Maryland, just outside the Naval Academy, and grew up in Arlington, Virginia. When I was in high school, terrorists attacked our nation on 9/11. One of my classmates had a father on American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon; I would see the smoking rubble every day on my school bus in the following months. I resolved then to join the military and serve my nation.

I was commissioned into the Navy in 2009 and after three years of flight school, including being stationed in Meridian for a year, I earned my Naval Aviator wings and moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia to become an F/A-18 Hornet pilot. After a tour which included a deployment on the USS George Washington I received orders to return to the Meridian area in 2016 as a T-45 instructor pilot. I spent the next 5 years as an instructor pilot before leaving active duty. I still fly for the Navy Reserves as an instructor pilot, and my civilian job is a maintenance test pilot for the T-45.

I’m a Christian conservative who loves our nation and is committed to preserving the blessings of liberty bestowed upon us by the Founding generation. Mississippi needs more people in government who will truly fight for the people, for the Constitution, and for future generations. I am grateful to be the Republican nominee and I humbly ask for your vote, either at your County Circuit Clerk’s Office beginning September 25th, or on Election Day, November 7th to be your next Representative for District 45.

The Satanic Altar Was Allowed Because of Religious & Political Freedom in Applications for Displays, a Legislator Wrote

USA Today reported that the altar displayed “seven fundamental tenets” of Satanism. Those tenets, according to the group’s website, include such things as “The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one’s own” and “Beliefs should conform to one’s best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one.”

In a newsletter, Iowa state Representative Brad Sherman wrote, “The week starting December 2, 2023, began with the news of a disgusting display sitting in the State Capitol Building in Des Moines, a satanic altar placed there by the Iowa Satanic Temple. The outrage and disgust for this satanic display is widespread, but few people think there is much that can be legally done about it because of free speech and freedom of religion. However, I disagree.”

Among other things, Sherman called 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.”

However, Representative Jon Dunwell wrote on X,

As many of you have become aware, last week a display was erected at the Iowa Capitol by the Satanic Temple of Iowa. As I have responded to concerns from Iowans about the display, I wanted to share with you how the display came to be and my response.

How did it happen?
• The Capitol structure falls underneath the control of the Iowa Legislature. The Department of Administrative Services (DAS) is charged with the management.
• Currently, access for displays at the Capitol are open to anyone through an application process. hough there are some guidelines, they do not discriminate on the basis of religion or ideology.
• Displays are permitted to be displayed for two weeks.
• All displays are required to communicate they are an independent display and not to be associated with the State of Iowa.
• The Satanic Temple petitioned for their display in August and were approved with some modification. They wanted to use an actual goat head (I’m assuming a skull) and we’re prohibited from doing so.
• The Iowa Legislature can set the rules and standards for any display. The current operating principle has been to either allow all displays or none. The Legislature has the power to change it if they deem necessary.

My Observations and Response as an Iowan, State Representative, and Pastor.

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