Headline Roundup • December 15th, 2023
Man Vandalizes Satanic Statue at Iowa State Capitol
Summary from the AllSides News Team
A man beheaded a satanist statue on display at the Iowa state capitol on Thursday. He turned himself in to the authorities afterward and was charged with criminal mischief.
For Context: The Satanic Temple, which describes its aims as being to "encourage benevolence and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice, and undertake noble pursuits," previously obtained permission to erect a statue of a goat-headed figure at the Iowa state capitol, drawing backlash from the state’s Christian residents and lawmakers.
Details: Michael Cassidy, a 35-year-old Navy Reserve instructor pilot who ran an unsuccessful campaign for Mississippi's 3rd Congressional District seat in 2022, tore off the statue’s head and knocked it over. The Temple stated that the damage done is beyond repair. Following the incident, Cassidy told a reporter, "I saw this blasphemous statue and was outraged. My conscience is held captive to the word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted."
How the Media Covered It: Coverage from The Guardian (Lean Left bias) stated that the Satanic Temple "makes clear that its members do not actually worship the devil nor do they believe in either Satan’s existence or the supernatural. Instead Satan is used as a symbol of free will, humanism and anti-authoritarianism." This description was not seen in coverage from The Western Journal (Right bias), which did not include any quotes from the temple and compared Cassidy’s words to those of Martin Luther.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Charlie Neibergall/AP
The leader of an organization whose satanic altar at Iowa’s state capitol was torn down by a Christian military veteran on Thursday has dismissed the vandalism as “a real act of cowardice”.
“There’s a certain point at which we need some adults in the room to tell people what … liberal, democratic values are; what their value is; why we uphold them; what they’re good for; and they need to stand up for these values or we are going to further degenerate in our polarism towards autocracy,” the co-founder of...
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Michael Cassidy, a 35-year-old Navy Reserve instructor pilot and self-styled "America First Conservative," has been charged with 4th-degree criminal mischief after allegedly tearing down and beheading a satanist statue that was on display at the Iowa State Capitol.
The display, made by the Satanic Temple Iowa, who said they were exercising their right to religious freedom, had already attracted significant controversy with a Christian group holding a prayer group on Wednesday in protest. It featured a human sized statue of Baphomet, a horned demon adopted for worship by some satanists,...
A former Navy pilot says he broke the laws of Iowa on Thursday to obey the laws of God.
Michael Cassidy vandalized a display put up in the Iowa state Capitol by the Satanic Temple, according to The Sentinel. The display featured a ram’s head on a caped mannequin.
Cassidy took off the ram’s head, tossed it in a trash can, and knocked the statue over. He faces a fourth-degree criminal mischief charge.
“I saw this blasphemous statue and was outraged,” Cassidy told The Sentinel. “My conscience is held captive to the...
