Jamiesfeast – A man who attacked and beheaded an allowed monument erected by the Satanic Temple at Iowa’s Capitol in December has been charged with a felony under the state’s hate crime laws, the prosecutor’s office announced this week.
Michael Cassidy, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Mississippi’s state House of Representatives, has been charged with third-degree criminal mischief in violation of person rights, the Polk County Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
“Evidence shows the defendant made statements to law enforcement and the public indicating he destroyed the property because of the victim’s religion,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Cassidy, 36, was charged with a misdemeanor. The upgraded charge is a class D felony under Iowa’s hate crime laws.
Cassidy of Lauderdale ran as a Republican for Mississippi State House District 45 but was defeated by Democrat Keith Jackson 55% to 38% in November.
According to his campaign biography, he is a former Navy pilot and “a Christian conservative who loves our nation.”
Cassidy appeared on Fox News days after beheading the monument, describing it as “Christian civil disobedience.”
He claimed he went to the Capitol and “nobody was there, which offended me.” It struck a nerve. It was justifiable indignation.” Cassidy told Fox News that he “pulled his head off,” alluding to the Baphomet display.
At the time of the damage, Minister Mortimer Adramelech of the Satanic Temple of Iowa told Des Moines’ NBC station WHO that the display was there for the holidays. The Iowa Department of Administrative Services stated that the group met the application standards for the display.
“The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees equal rights in the public sphere to all religions. “As Americans, we have every right to be here just like everyone else,” Adramelech told the channel.
The Satanic Temple denies the existence of Satan and the supernatural. According to its website, the group advocates “effective and artful protest.”
The county prosecutor’s office said that the display was irreparably destroyed.
“The Polk County Attorney’s Office seeks fair and just resolutions of all cases, as we continue to apply the law equally to all, regardless of religion, race, sexual orientation, or economic status,” the office said in a statement on Tuesday.
Cassidy’s attorney did not immediately respond to an emailed request seeking comment from her law firm Wednesday night.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Baphomet is a winged figure with a goat head, and allusions to it include Philip IV of France accusing the Knights Templar of worshipping it.
According to a blog on the subject on the National Archives’ website in the United Kingdom, Philip had Knights Templar members burned at the stake over allegations that they were more loyal to the pope than their king, as well as because Philip was under financial duress and the Templars were wealthy.