Satanists erected a satanic display in the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul last week, prompting accusations at the state's Democratic Governor Tim Walz for allowing such displays.
The controversial display features a phoenix, an inverted pentagram, and text from The Mass of the Phoenix, a ritual associated with the famous British occultist Aleister Crowley.
The group behind the display, Minnesota Satanists, was established as a chapter of The Satanic Temple in 2019 but became an independent organization earlier this year, according to their website.
Republican state legislators voiced their criticism, with state Rep. Tom Emmer blaming Walz for permitting the display. “Is there anything Tim Walz won’t do to insult Minnesotans?” Emmer tweeted.
State Rep. Pete Stauber echoed these sentiments, stating, “When you get a DFL [Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party] trifecta, you get a Satanic display at our state Capitol. During the holidays… what a disgrace. Only in Walz's Minnesota.”
Walz has not yet issued any public comments regarding the display.
The news of the satanic display inside the Minnesota Capitol comes a week after a similar display was destroyed outside the New Hampshire state House.
That statue depicted a black-clad figure of the demon Baphomet with glowing eyes, holding a bouquet of purple lilacs, which symbolize New Hampshire's state flower. It was also adorned with a purple stole emblazoned with the inverted pentagram, goat's head of the TST logo, and two inverted crosses.
At the bottom of the statue, there was a tablet displaying the seven tenets of The Satanic Temple, and a black and white satanic flag was positioned to its left.
The New Hampshire statue faced repeated vandalism and was destroyed last Monday night, triggering an ongoing police investigation. The city of Concord stated they approved the permit for the statue to "avoid litigation," although Democratic Mayor Byron Champlin expressed his disapproval during a city council meeting, according to New Hampshire Public Radio.
The Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS) canceled an event planned by The Satanic Temple of Iowa, according to the Des Moines Register. Last year, a statue of Baphomet sparked similar outrage when it was placed near a Nativity scene in the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines.
Michael Cassidy, a U.S. Navy veteran who toppled the Iowa statue last year after traveling from Mississippi, celebrated the backlash against satanic displays. Cassidy tweeted Sunday to mark the anniversary of his act, “One year ago today, Glad that Satanic icons were rejected this year in both Iowa, by wise civil leaders, and New Hampshire, by a kindred spirit. All glory to God.”
Cassidy accepted a guilty plea to criminal mischief in May as part of a deal that led to the dismissal of the hate crime charge against him. During an interview with The Christian Post last December, Cassidy insisted he did the right thing, claiming that legislators are overcomplicating evil by suggesting that the U.S. Constitution protects devil worship on government property.
