Objecting to Satanic shrines in public is now “hateful.”
A Christian veteran who decapitated a Satanic idol displayed in the Iowa State Capitol building has been charged with a “hate crime.”
Yes, really.
Michael Cassidy in December beheaded the Baphomet figure and destroyed the altar it rested upon after it had been installed by the Satanic Temple with the support of Democrat and Republican lawmakers.
The Satanic Temple of Iowa installed a “holiday” display at the Iowa State Capitol and claims it must be permitted under religious liberty laws. pic.twitter.com/7EegFhVNwL
— Libby Emmons (@libbyemmons) December 12, 2023
“I saw this blasphemous statue and was outraged,” Cassidy told The Sentinel. “My conscience is held captive to the word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted.”
BREAKING: @RepubSentinel can reveal that Michael Cassidy, a Christian and former military officer, tore down and beheaded the Satan altar in the Iowa Capitol:https://t.co/rIYIdZOzee pic.twitter.com/tZDsmKM5Pm
— The Sentinel (@RepubSentinel) December 14, 2023
Rather than charge Cassidy with vandalism or damage to property, Polk County prosecutors charged the veteran with felony third-degree criminal mischief, arguing that the act was “in violation of individual rights” under Iowa’s hate crime statute.
“Evidence shows the defendant made statements to law enforcement and the public indicating he destroyed the property because of the victim’s religion,” triggering the violation of individual rights enhancement, said Lynn Hicks, a spokesman for the Polk County Attorney’s Office.
Hicks also said that based on information from the Satanic Temple, the cost to replace or repair the statue would be between $750 and $1,500, making its destruction an aggravated misdemeanor, but the hate crime statute elevated the crime to a felony.
Cassidy had argued that Satanic idols aren’t protected by the First Amendment because they’re not symbols of religions, but mockeries of religion.
“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 had 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.”
The Sentinel created a GiveSendGo for Cassidy to fund his legal bills, with over $100,000 of the $20,000 goal already reached as of this writing.
Notably, violent far-left activists who tore down numerous statues of American heroes like Christopher Columbus, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and others were never charged or held accountable for their crimes.
Violent activists tore down dozens of statues including Columbus, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington. None were held accountable or charged with a hate crime.
Michael Cassidy knocks over a Satan statue made out of household items and gets charged with a hate crime.
Welcome… pic.twitter.com/NdS70sXQKi
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 31, 2024
This is the two-tiered justice system in action in Joe Biden’s America.
Tear down a Satanic shrine, get charged with a hate crime.
But viciously assault police officers in Times Square, get off scot-free.
🎥 WATCH: Two @NYPD officers were recently beaten by migrants and released without bail.@POTUS & @SecMayorkas have turned the American dream into the American nightmare. pic.twitter.com/oUjxjFnmQN
— Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (@RepDesposito) January 31, 2024
