Tuesday, Navy veteran Michael Cassidy, 35, was charged with a hate crime subsequent to his confession of beheading a Satanic statue that had been exhibited in the Iowa State Capitol for the previous month.
After beheading the statue, Cassidy, a Christian from Mississippi who had previously run for congress, was apprehended and charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief.
The repaired cost of the damaged statue is currently estimated to be between $750 and $1,500, according to court documents.
Prosecutors assert that Cassidy’s actions violated the hate crime statute of Iowa, which protects individual rights.
The state of Iowa reportedly granted the Satanic Temple of Iowa permission to exhibit a Baphomet statue in the state capitol building, where it was reportedly positioned in close proximity to the Nativity displays that were on display during the Christmas season.
Cassidy explained to The Republic Sentinel, shortly after the incident, why he had chosen to destroy the Satanic display.
“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.” Cassidy remarked to the paper.
“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. 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 continued.
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