A demonic display depicting a ram’s head on a human body wearing a long, red cloak erected last week has been smashed by a former officer acting in the name of Jesus. After over a week of the demonic scene alongside Nativity imagery, on Thursday Christian and former Navy pilot Michael Cassidy knocked over the statue of the ram's head on a man's body, removed the head and threw it in the trash. “I saw this blasphemous statue and was outraged,” Cassidy said. “My conscience is held captive to the word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted.”Cassidy then turned himself into police on-site at the capitol building, who told him the Satanic Temple wishes to press charges, as per The Sentinel. He now faces charges of fourth-degree criminal mischief, the publication confirmed after reviewing the complaint and affidavit.Cassidy, who previously ran for Mississippi congress describing himself as a “Christian conservative who loves our nation and is committed to preserving the blessings of liberty," said he dismantled the display to “awaken Christians to the anti-Christian acts promoted by our government.”He quoted 1 John 3:8, which states "the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil," as further motivation to demolish the statue. “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 Capitol buildings as protected by the First Amendment,” Cassidy told The Sentinel. “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.”.The Satanic statue and ritualistic display was set up beside Christmas and Hanukkah decorations by the Satanic Temple, a group of demonic worshippers, in the Iowa State Capitol for a 14-day stint expressing “religious freedom.” The display, set in the building’s rotunda, further consists of a plethora of candles, wreaths and mirrors fixated to the ram’s head and a satanic altar. The Sentinel reported the display depicts "the idol Baphomet holding a pentacle" and surrounded by candles, on the first floor of the Iowa Capitol near displays of the Nativity. .The display, protected by the First Amendment, was approved because the group followed the correct administrative steps to do so. They originally asked to use a real skull for the ram’s head, but that was denied.Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds wrote in a statement released Tuesday she finds the display “absolutely objectionable” and the only way to deal with the demonic is through prayer. “In a free society, the best response to objectionable speech is more speech and I encourage all those of faith to join me today in praying over the Capitol,” she said, “recognizing the nativity scene that will be on display – the true reason for the season.”.Iowa resident Shellie Flockhart, who organized a prayer group around the nearby Christmas tree in the rotunda to undergo spiritual battle, said what the display represents is “a very dark, evil force.”“I truly hope people know how to battle that," she told KCCI News. "I hope that people realize spiritual warfare is real. That there are evil satanic forces that are trying to infiltrate our state.”. Satanic Temple founder Lucien Greaves, told KCCI News the group “really relishes the opportunity to be represented in a public forum.” “We don't have a church on every street corner,” he said. "My feeling is if people don't like our display in public forums, they don't have to engage with them. They don't have to view them.”
