Former Mississippi Congressional candidate Michael Cassidy faces a felony hate crime charge after he destroyed a Satanic statue in the Iowa state capitol. The Polk County (Iowa) Attorney's Office issued the following statement:
Michael P. Cassidy of Lauderdale, Miss., has been charged with third-degree criminal mischief in violation of individual rights, a class D felony, for intentionally damaging a statue owned by the Satanic Temple of Iowa.
Mr. Cassidy dismantled the Baphomet Altar on Dec. 14 at the Iowa State Capitol and destroyed the headpiece, according to an Iowa State Patrol report.
Based on information from the victims, the cost to replace or repair the property is between $750 and $1,500. That amount would make the offense third-degree criminal mischief, an aggravated misdemeanor, according to Iowa Code Section 716.5.
In addition, evidence shows the defendant made statements to law enforcement and the public indicating he destroyed the property because of the victim’s religion. That enhances the charge to third-degree criminal mischief in violation of individual rights, a class D felony, according to Iowa Code Section 729A.2.
Mr. Cassidy faces arraignment on Feb. 15.
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.
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| Credit: New York Post |
Iowa Code section 729A.2 states:
“Hate crime” means one of the following public offenses when committed against a person or a person’s property because of the person’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, age, or disability, or the person’s association with a person of a certain race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, age, or disability:
Assault in violation of individual rights under section 708.2C.
Violations of individual rights under section 712.9.
Criminal mischief in violation of individual rights under section 716.6A.
Trespass in violation of individual rights under section 716.8, subsections 3 and 4. 92 Acts, ch 1157, §9
Section 716.6A states criminal mischief classified as a hate crime is punished as an offense one degree higher than the underlying offense.
Cassidy might have to undergo sensitivity training if convicted. Section 729A.4 states:
The prosecuting attorneys training coordinator shall develop a course of instruction for law enforcement personnel and prosecuting attorneys designed to sensitize those persons to the existence of violations of individual rights and the criteria for determining whether a violation of individual rights has occurred. The prosecuting attorneys training coordinator shall consult with the civil rights commission, the office of the attorney general, and the department of public safety regarding the content and provision of this course of instruction.
Does this mean the state would teach Cassidy how to be nice to the Devil?
57 comments:
Come on people. It's about time we give the Devil his due..... HAIL!!
We've been doing that way too long already
lord help us if this had anything to do with the
preferred sky daddy used around here .
hope he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law !
Rehab him at Millsaps. They will get him back to spitting fire and brimstone before you can say Iowa!
He fell right into their hands.
What a goober.
Bigots and the other non-tolerant should fall right in to their hands, it is what they deserve. Hopefully the idiot has to pay for damages and serves some time. After that he might learn to keep his hands on his own property or to himself.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!! (Deep breath)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!
You got all the publicity you could have wanted, Cassidy. Now that your dumbass has been charged with a felony, might want to start a new GoFundMe page. It's all about the grift, until someone calls your bluff.
and this guy almost conned his way into a congressional seat.
So the Satanic Temple of Iowa was allowed to place a religious symbol at the Iowa state capital. So who is the "victim" whose religion was offended--the Satanic Temple or the State of Iowa? Sounds like the State of Iowa is promoting the worship of satan. I guess it's only the promotion of Christianity that is unconstitutional.
"....indicating he destroyed the property because of the victim’s religion. ..."
The victim? A statue is now a person under Iowa law? Does the statue vote in Iowa?
Ironic how attacking the devil (a hate symbol) is a hate crime.
Rather, isn't this a crime against hate?
The justice department should bring federal charges as well. His crimes are the textbook definition of 18 U.S.C. 247.
The Church of Satan is going through a re-brand. All about human achievement and self-absorption.
When is the monument to Jesus Christ scheduled to be displayed in the Iowa state capitol?
Seems to me someone has violated all of the citizens of Iowa first amendment rights by endorsing the church of satan.
Funny how the wokesters can destroy statues all the time (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson etc....) and not face any retribution but you let one Christian destroy a statue and all hell (excuse the pun) breaks loose.
Satan wins !
I hate Satan. Sue me.
Thank you for posting Dragon Ball!
That made my day!
Destroying statues erected to honor confederate traitors doesn't violate anyone's civil rights.
KF’s power level went over 9000 with that DBZ reference
James covers situations similar to Iowa in Chapter 4 v 7 of his NT book
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister[d] or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
IMO we should not strike out, as self fulfilling as we might see it to be.
"Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
Says nothing about an attack to a display by those who seek out the devil. Scripture does tell us to witness what God and Christ have done for us.
a few of the commenters missed the part about the fact that the satanic temple display was one of many religious holiday displays, including christian
had someone destroyed that, they would have been arrested and charged, just like him..
It seems most of the commenters here don’t understand that the only reason the Baphomet statue is allowed in the state building is because they already allowed the Christians to set up a display. The state is not allowed to promote a single religion, so they are required to allow all religions to place similar displays or they will have to ban all religious displays which includes the Christian one. Since the Christians don’t like the separation of church and state, they can’t understand why they alone are not allowed to promote their religion through the government. If Cassidy didn’t like the statue, he could have petitioned to have all religious symbols removed, but his victim complex and lack of respect for the constitution and our laws didn’t allow him to have that level of logic and has resulted in his dumbass being charged with a slam dunk case of a hate crime.
@10:50 - the victim is the Satanic Temple who had their religious symbol attacked by an intolerant Christian asshole. The only reason it was allowed to be displayed was because the Christians insisted on having their nativity scene displayed first. Since the constitution prevents the government from treating one religion preferentially, they were required to also allow other religions to erect their own displays. May I also point out, no one attacked the nativity scene so it seems the Christians are a bit less law abiding than the satanists, no surprise there.
@10:52 - so you think it’s ok for a nazi to burn down a synagogue? That’s not a hate crime because the victim is a building? You are only promoting the stereotype of the dumb Christian with this crap, you need to try to think with logic and reason.
@11:03 - it was there first, hence why the Satanists were also allowed to display their prophet. It’s either every religion can put up a display or no religion, including christianity, is allowed to have one. I know that shocks you, but Christian’s do not get special treatment under the law in spite of your best efforts.
Why is it we are cursed with adult citizens who do not know that destroying the property of others and violence are not the way people with any sense at all solve problems?
Nor do they seem to understand the necessity of laws.
Violence may be necessary for self-defense but just attacking anything you don't like is level of intelligence and the behavior of two years olds.
We seem to have raise a couple of generations of ignorant barbarians!
Kinda like the mayor of water valley removing a “Blue Devil ” on private property, which is the schools mascot, by the way. It offended his Baptist sensitivities. If you look up the Blue Devils, they have a storied and honorable history! But you don’t know what you don’t know! 😎
Not an expert but Satan worship or satanic temple is not a religion!!! So this is not a church and state issue. Based on thinking on here, a pedophile display would be protected by Iowa’s law.
Don't commit a felony then brag.
Criminal Law 101.
12:41, can you name any benifits from worshipping Satan? My life has gotten tremendously better from praying to God, never heard anyone say that about Satan. Just asking....
12:26 & 12:41 - Y'all suck at history. Christians invented "separation of church and state", but it doesn't mean what you think it means. Religions can and are treated differently. Have you seen the laws on human sacrifice lately? Animals too.
12:41 - KF didn't supply that context on "first", but that barely seems relevant. If its wrong, don't do it. Your argument is infantile if you say it is wrong, but they got to do it, so these get to do it, too. No. You just stop doing it. I played in the road when I was three years old. Do all three year olds get to play in the road because I did? No. Its not allowed. Period.
The history thing. Christian western civilization is responsible for designing and comprehending all of these rights. After centuries of killing each other, christians sought out a better way. The rights of man (Lafayette, Jefferson, & Paine). Eventually, the idea took hold across the west. The US, in particular, has been studiously observed by the entire world since its founding to see what a country that enumerated & protects unalienable rights looks like. Y'all don't understand that "citizens with rights" are Christian ideas all the way down. I don't think institutions have rights. Muslims do what you describe. But, maybe your hatred of/ religion has disabled your logical faculties.
@4:35 - are you a preacher or in some other way financially benefitting from your church or its members? If not, I suspect you would get similar placebo benefits from worshipping whoever or whatever you chose to believe and the same fellowship from attending group meetings with like minded believers. I personally don’t believe in any gods.
The reason society is upside down today is because people by and large stopped being afraid of going to hell. lol It was ingrained in us throughout childhood and the thought was truly frightening. Now? Young people think THEY are gods. Sodom & Gomorrah here we come...Kaboom!
@4:12 - the satanic temple has the same classification and tax breaks as every other religion. It’s pretty tough for the government to prove a religious belief is genuine. It’s not like you can prove the effectiveness of praying to your god. Once you can, let us know and maybe the legislators can draw up some better laws to prevent other religions from getting those same tax benefits.
Meet me at the CrossRoads. Crank out Devil licks on guitar, achieve fame. Blues, women, whiskey now, but an eternity in Hell of guitars without strings, women without libido, whisky without fire.
@4:40 - not sure how that fact is not relevant. If the government allows one religion to set up displays to promote their religion in a government building, what right do they have to ban any other legitimate religion from doing the exact same thing? Do you think Christians are just above the law? You sure are quick to throw out the insults to people you don’t understand or agree with. That’s the sign you are a true believer so I know you are genuinely offended by my post. Bless your heart. Like they say, there’s no hate like Christian love.
Well, this is a textbook case of FAFO
Satan can easily be found in nearly any local churh.
“When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it so that its professors are obligated to call for help of the civil power, it’s a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one.”
Benjamin Franklin, letter to Richard Price, October 9, 1780
Yet another reason why the concept of "hate crimes" is asinine.
5:56 said, "there’s no hate like Christian love."
Oh yeah, we saw the Gulf Coast teeming with atheists and Planned Parenthood after the Hurricane Katrina. The Baptists, Catholics and Salvation Army could not be found. What a huge lie.
Guys like 5:56 are very generous with other people's money. Lift a finger to help? Nah...
12:41 (5:56) - It's not relevant because a wrong isn't nullified by allowing more wrongs. Yours is an infantile way of thinking. The correct action is to commit no more wrongs, not even to make things "even". Very young children learn this life lesson through teaching and harsh life experiences; why haven't you? Why would the church of satan sign on to such a stupid decision? Btw, I am very slow to insult another. But, I am dedicated to the practical application of the golden rule. You insulted everyone in both of your responses, so the only reasonable inference to be made is you wish to be treated the same. Did I get something wrong?
May God bless you!
5:38, no, I am not a preacher. I personally see the effects of prayer in my own life, what you call lived experience. You have a narrow vision of religion, it's ok, as you have a right to your opinions. My life is better with God and prayer.
@11:46 - it sounds like you agree the nativity scene shouldn’t have been allowed. Since it was allowed, do you think other religions should be equally treated under the law and allowed to set up their own propaganda or should the others just have to complain about it to the Christian legislators who don’t see a problem since they are the ones benefiting from the special treatment? The satanic temple doesn’t believe these should be allowed, so they set up their own display to help Christian legislators understand how everyone who isn’t Christian feels. I think that was the correct action to help them learn some empathy and the Goldman rule you cherish so much. When they got this equal protection under the law, an extremist Christian politician became so outraged, he traveled across the country and committed a hate crime to prevent them from having a non-Christian display In this story, the only bad people are the Christians and yet you blame the satanic temple for having the shame to demand the same treatment under the law that your religion benefits from.
@6:00 - I don’t care what religion anyone chooses to follow. I see some positives from religion, like the sense of community and moral direction for people who don’t get that from within themselves. If prayer helps you, then by all means have at it and good luck to you. I choose to spend my Sundays relaxing and spending time with the family and that works for me. As long as no one pushes their religion and beliefs onto theirs, especially through our government, I see no problem. If more Christian’s understood this point, the satanic temple probably wouldn’t exist because there would be no need to protest the government’s preferential treatment of one religion over all the others.
I love Dragon Ball Z. Thanks KingFish.
@10:49 am-Amazing that you mentioned this and no one talked about it. The idiots in the radical right almost got him elected to Congress with their typical rhetoric by branding Guest a liberal for voting to uphold the law. I hope someone calls you out-shame on you. The wide eyed extreme right nut jobs have spoiled the credibility of the Republican Party . Just like the far left -no common sense -Democrats have done to their party's credibility.. “ the Democrats have lost their minds and the Republicans have lost their soul.” Pray for our nation.
Upholding the law is now "Satan strikes back"? C'mon man!
8:39, the satanic temple exist because people are misguided. It's thier lives. Apparently, you feel religion is pushed on everyone. I haven't personally seen that but it could happen. I do think it's funny that people blast Christianity but crickets when it comes to Islam. My intent is not to argue with you or anyone. We are both right in a sense.
12:26, imagine if every religion sector in the US wanted to converge on that state and wanted to put up a display? Think they would have allowed that? If yoy allow one, you must allow all. I feel that would have caused an issue.
The wide eyed extreme right nut jobs have spoiled the credibility of the Republican Party.
The forked tongue GOP's credibility was well sullied before Trump.
1 Peter 5:8
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. NIV
Anybody got a Chuckwagon Gang 8-Track I can borrow?
@9:56 - Christianity is blasted here because Christians are in the overwhelming majority and abuse that power to their own benefit. The exact same thing happens in majority Muslim countries. I’m sure their schools have Islamic
prayers every morning just like we do here for the Christians and I’m sure the Muslims try to enshrine their religious beliefs into law just like we do here. Non-Muslims children in those schools are sure to feel left out and different because they don’t share the same beliefs as the other kids and I’m sure they grow to resent Islam due to their exclusion.
A direct quote from Michael Cassidy’s campaign site on how he thinks people that tear down statues should be treated:
“ Mandatory minimums for mob destruction of statues, infrastructure, and houses of worship - automatic 10 years in jail plus the cost of repair”
You can’t make this stuff up, what a hypocritical dumbass! I hope the jury holds him to his word.
If the folks who owned that work of art are truly a religion, they will forgive him and not press charges. Even the devil would have them do that. The devil can use this man in multiple ways...but not if he's in a jail cell sitting on a stainless throne.
Let's see how it plays out.
1:53 - Muslim countries' governments have no similarities to western democracies at all. The Koran is as much a political and governmental organizing document as it is a spiritual guide. The treatment of non-muslim citizens is abhorrent. There is no separation between church and state, and many states try to claim the imprimatur of islam, such as the Taliban in Afghanistan and the mullahs in Iran. Much the same in the southwest Pacific countries.
@7:35 - we aren’t there yet, but the far right is working on codifying as much of the Old Testament into law as they are able to. The morality police are a wet dream for many in this god forsaken state. Orange Jesus is the new messiah. All hail the orange beast!
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