The U.S. Navy veteran who toppled a satanic display in the Iowa State Capitol told The Christian Post that his detractors defending it on constitutional grounds are "overcomplicating" the situation and should stand firm against spiritual evil.
Michael Cassidy, 35, made headlines last week when he pushed over a red-cloaked Baphomet statue erected near a Nativity scene in the Capitol rotunda, as first reported by The Republic Sentinel. He tossed its silver goat head in the trash before turning himself in to authorities, who issued him a citation for fourth-degree criminal mischief.
His legal defense fund has raised more than $80,000 as of Friday.
The Baphomet figure, constructed with pool noodles, had been erected by the Iowa chapter of The Satanic Temple. The display also featured a candle-lit altar adorned with the seven "Fundamental Tenets" of the organization, which claims not to believe in a personal devil.
Cassidy, who unsuccessfully ran for the Mississippi House of Representatives this year, told CP that he bought a plane ticket from Mississippi to Des Moines on Wednesday, toppled the statue the next day, and then flew back. When he encountered the display in person, he said it was more disturbing than the pictures of it online.
Claiming he didn't initially intend to rip down the display when he saw it, Cassidy said he eyed the open doors near the statue and considered just slipping out but felt compelled to do something.
"I don't want to have the conversation with Jesus someday and have Him say, 'Hey, there was this statue, and you knew it was wrong for it to be up there, but you were afraid of worldly things and worldly consequences, and you were ashamed of me and my opposition to the devil,'" he said.
"The world tells us to be ashamed of God, and He tells us not to be," Cassidy recounted his thoughts that day. "So that's when I made the decision, which was pretty much right before I took it down."
The display had prompted debate among Republican state legislators regarding whether it should be removed. Iowa state Rep. Brad Sherman, a Christian pastor, argued that the display violated the Iowa State Constitution and appealed to Iowa's Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds to take it down.
State Rep. Jon Dunwell, also a pastor, posted a viral thread on X saying that while he personally finds the altar "objectionable" and "classified as evil," he does not believe it to be the government's place to arbitrate religion.
"For me, I would rather have an evil, blasphemous display or no display at all than have the state dictate what they think is appropriate," Dunwell told CP in an interview last week.
Cassidy believes arguments such as Dunwell's are a misinterpretation of the Constitution and the intentions of those who wrote it.
"The people who wrote our Constitution would be shocked to think of defending Satan as consistent with their beliefs when they wrote the laws that govern our nation," he said.
1 comment:
There is no argument when it comes to accepting evil and defending Satan's rights as Satan is not a citizen of these United States and has no right of representation. Satan does not represent a religion. There is only one Truth and WAY and any other is abomination representing lies and idolatry.
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