A former Mississippi political candidate is facing criminal charges after a bedazzled statue of Baphomet, a figure associated with the Satanic Temple, was discovered decapitated at the Iowa State Capitol.
Michael Cassidy, 35, a former U.S. Navy pilot, told Fox News that he saw the controversy surrounding the display, which was heavily criticized by Republican politicians like Ron DeSantis, and drove to the Iowa Capitol to see it for himself. He said it hit a “nerve” and went on to destroy it.
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According to an archived version of his campaign website, Cassidy pushed for a 10-year prison sentence for anyone who destroys a statue in his own state.
Pretty sure there’s an ocean of difference between Jesus Christ rebuking the literal devil and a politician traveling across state borders to illegally deface a statue as a publicity stunt to fundraise and get an interview on Fox about how he totally “decapitated Satan.” Even if his conviction was somehow driven by religion and not pure vanity (it wasn’t), any form of religious supremacy has no place in society at large, let alone a government building. The law recognizes this, “freedom of religion” is the backbone of this in the US, and I’d hope people understand why it might be a worthwhile and important protection to have and uphold.
Additionally, I have a suspicion that anyone who favorably compares a person who postures as a Christian supremacist to Christ is less the sort of person with an understanding of their religion and more the sort of person who knows how to search for the word “Satan” in their YouVersion Bible app.
To this guy’s fans, and possibly him, he did literally rebuke Satan with this act.
There are people out there who actually believe it, and therefore agree his actions legitimately align with Jesus’ teachings.