Christian veteran who destroyed SATANIC display in Iowa Capitol charged with “hate crime”

02/04/2024 / By Ramon Tomey

A Christian military veteran who destroyed a satanic display at the Iowa State Capitol has been charged with a “hate crime.”

According to an InfoWars report, Michael Cassidy beheaded the figure of satanic icon Baphomet and destroyed the altar it was resting on. He then threw the goat skull used in the display in a trash can. Cassidy, a retired Navy pilot turned flight instructor, then turned himself in to law enforcement officers present at the building.

But instead of celebrating Cassidy’s brave act against evil, authorities punished him. “Instead of simply charging him with misdemeanor damage to property or vandalism, Polk County prosecutors charged the veteran with felony third-degree criminal mischief,” the outlet wrote. “[Prosecutors argued] that the act was ‘in violation of individual rights’ under Iowa’s hate crime statute.”

Polk County Attorney’s Office spokesman Lynn Hicks said: “Evidence shows the defendant made statements to law enforcement and the public indicating he destroyed the property because of the victim’s religion.” This, in turn, fell under the Hawkeye State’s hate crime laws.

He also added that based on information from The Satanic Temple (TST), it would cost between $750 and $1,500 to replace or repair the statue. While its destruction fell under an aggravated misdemeanor, the state’s hate crime statute elevated it to a felony. TST had installed the display in the state capitol with the support of both Democratic and Republican state lawmakers. (Related: Moral decline: Satanic symbols now appearing at government buildings all across America.)

In response, the Sentinel created a GiveSendGo page for Cassidy to fund his legal bills. From the campaign’s original goal of $20,000, donors have given more than $100,000 as of writing. Davis Younts, an attorney and retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who served in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, will represent Cassidy in court.

Cassidy a “man of courage in a world of cowardice”

For his part, Cassidy had no regrets doing what he did. He reportedly stated that his reason for destroying TST’s Baphomet display in the Iowa Capitol was to “awaken Christians to the anti-Christian acts promoted by our government.”

“I saw this blasphemous statue and was outraged,” he told the Sentinel. “My conscience is held captive to the Word of God, not to bureaucratic degree – and so I acted.”

“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 protected 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.”

Cassidy also cited the first letter of St. John the Evangelist, which stated: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” He ultimately noted that “Scripture exhorts us to think and act like Jesus Christ.”

According to him, displays of Baphomet and other satanic idols are not protected by the First Amendment. This is because they are not symbols of religion, but mockeries of it.

“Out of the millions of Christians in this nation, Cassidy was the first to act in bravery and conviction. He was not willing to see God reviled, especially in a building where lawmakers are supposed to honor Jesus Christ as King and look to His law for wisdom as they legislate with justice and righteousness,” the GiveSendGo for Cassidy’s legal funds said.

“Help this conservative Christian, a man of courage in an age of cowardice, defend himself in court.”

Head over to Satanism.news for more stories like this.

Watch this video about TST mocking the Nativity by replacing Baby Jesus with Baphomet.

This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com.