The devil made him do it

Well, now things are starting to heat up in the dead of winter. A guy from Mississippi felt called upon to drive up to Iowa to destroy a statue at the state capitol.

Oh, that's awful, you say. But wait, there's more...

It was a statue of a pagan idol that he wrecked, one brought to the capitol by the Satanic Temple of Iowa in response to state rules that allowed religious displays in the building over the holidays. That rule was an attempt to counter the rule that stopped folks of a certain faith, even though it be the majority, from erecting religious exhibits in public buildings.  To the members of the Satanic Temple, the horned figure of Baphomet is regarded as a deity, but it was “destroyed beyond repair,” said the Temple, after being smashed up by one Michael Cassidy.  

Cassidy has run for Congress and the state legislature in Mississippi, without success. But something told him to go to Iowa and destroy the property of others because “my conscience is held captive to the word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted.”

Which is fancy talk for "The laws of my religion are above the laws of man, so I can drive 105 miles an hour on my way to committing vandalism on property that means as much to others as my religious artifacts do to me, but I'm in the majority, so yeah yeah yeah."

Initially, the vagabond vandal was charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief, but last week, a document came out charging him with felony third-degree criminal mischief. This charge falls under the hate crime statute in Iowa, as it alleges that the act was committed “in violation of individual rights.”

Lynn Hicks, a spokesman for the Polk County Attorney’s Office, said, “Evidence shows the defendant made statements to law enforcement and the public indicating he destroyed the property because of the victim’s religion.”

Cassidy’s attorney, Sara Pasquale, accuses the Satanic Temple taking actions that “are only meant to evoke strong emotions and incite others.” In other words, his defense will be that he wrecked the property of others because those others made him mad. Most courts will tell you, you can't do that.

The Satanic Temple says it doesn't believe in Satan and is not to be confused with the Church of Satan, but they are a “non-theistic religious organization” that advocates for secularism.  

What the hell???