Christian veteran Michael Cassidy, who beheaded a satanic altar in Iowa’s capital over the holidays, has been charged with a hate crime.
The altar of Baphomet was installed by the Satanic Temple, with the approval of the Iowa Legislature. It featured a goat’s head on a red-cloaked mannequin holding a crimson pentagram wreath.
The display sparked huge controversy, with some arguing that approving the shrine was crucial to religious freedom and others that it was a deliberate move to torment Christians, especially because it was placed near a nativity scene.
On December 14, Cassidy tore off the head and threw it in a garbage can.
Cassidy was charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, the next day.
Speaking to The Sentinel shortly after the beheading, Cassidy said he beheaded the statue to “awaken Christians to the anti-Christian acts promoted by our government.”
“The world may tell Christians to submissively accept Satan’s legitimacy, but none of the founders would have considered the government’s approval of satanic altars inside the Capitol buildings to be protected by the First Amendment,” Cassidy said. “Anti-Christian values have been increasingly widespread in recent decades, and Christians have largely behaved like the proverbial frog in boiling water.”
BREAK: @RepubSentinel can reveal that Michael Cassidy, a Christian and former military officer, tore down and beheaded Satan’s altar in the Iowa Capitol: https://t.co/rIYIdZOzee pic.twitter.com/tZDsmKM5Pm
— La Sentinella (@RepubSentinel) December 14, 2023
“I saw this blasphemous statue and I was outraged,” Cassidy continued. “My conscience is a prisoner of the word of God, not of bureaucratic decrees. And so I acted.”
Cassidy turned himself in to police after destroying the shrine. The Sentinel reported that the Satanic Temple of Iowa confirmed it plans to file charges.
Polk County prosecutors have now added a much more severe charge, according to a charging document made public Tuesday obtained by the Des Moines Register.
The Register reports that Cassidy is now charged with a third-degree criminal offense committed “in violation of individual rights” under Iowa’s hate crimes statute.
“The evidence shows that the defendant made statements to law enforcement and the public indicating that he had destroyed property because of the victim’s religion,” Lynn Hicks, spokeswoman for the Polk County Prosecutor’s Office, told the newspaper .
We raised the first $20,000 needed @VoteCassidy and his legal defense in less than three hours. Thank you for your generosity! We will reopen the campaign if more funds are needed. https://t.co/FKeNhUXkTQ
— La Sentinella (@RepubSentinel) December 15, 2023
The report adds: “Court documents show Cassidy will be arraigned on February 15. He has raised more than $84,000 for his legal defense from nearly 2,000 supporters, according to the fundraising site GiveSendGo.”