Veteran Charged With Hate Crime For Beheading Statue of Satan

IOWA: US Navy Veteran and former Congressional candidate Michael Cassidy has been charged with a hate crime after beheading a statue of Satan in Iowa’s Capitol.

The statue Cassidy pushed over, decapitated and threw in the trash was of Baphomet and was erected by members of the Satanic Temple of Iowa who had been given permission to display the statue.

Under Iowa’s hate crime statute, Polk County prosecutors have charged Cassidy with felony third-degree criminal mischief, saying he acted “in violation of individual rights.”

The hate crimes charge came when evidence showed “the defendant made statements to law enforcement and the public indicating he destroyed the property because of the victim’s religion,” explained Lynn Hick, spokesman for the Polk County Attorney’s Office.

The Satanic Temple filed $3,000 in damages which they claimed was the cost to replace the statue, whilst Hicks stated that it would only cost between $750 and $1,500.

“My conscience is held captive to the word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted,” said Cassidy after decapitating the statue of satan.

So far, he has raised $84,000 for his legal defense on his GiveSendGo and Turning Point USA pledged $10,000 in financial assistance.

During Turning Point USA’s America Fest last year, Cassidy was asked by a presenter, “What was it like when you walked into the Iowa State Capitol and you saw before you, at Christmas time, that statue on that altar?” “It was an abomination,” Cassidy replied.

The Navy veteran also added that people need to wake up to what is happening in the world around us, “They may think it’s a joke that they triggered us but the devil is real and we have to be ready.”

As believers in these last days, we will be confronted with evil and our faith will be tested in a plethora of ways. Will we stand true, take action and be found faithful? Or, will we back down and instead choose to capitulate to the dictates of the age?

Being a Christian isn’t just something we say, it is a lifestyle of serving Jesus, and as we are serving him, we are told that “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” 2 Timothy 3:12.

Don’t be discouraged when persecution, regardless of the form it takes on, comes. Be encouraged! For it is the fulfillment of what God has told us is a marker of those that pursue him!

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