Satanic Temple Can Host Iowa Capitol Christmas Events: Federal Judge

A federal judge says Iowa must allow the Satanic Temple to hold a holiday event at the state Capitol ahead of Christmas.In August, the Satanic Temple filed a federal lawsuit over Iowa’s repeated rejection of its request to hold “family-friendly” holiday events at the Capitol while Christian and other faith organizations put up religious holiday displays. In a decision on Monday, a federal judge, Stephanie Rose, granted the Satanic Temple’s request for a preliminary injunction, requiring Iowa to let the organization hold its holiday event. She ordered the director of Iowa’s Department of Administrative Services, Mark Campbell, to approve the temple’s application to hold its holiday event on December 12. Judge Rose noted that attorneys for the state said the event, which includes a depiction of a European folklore figure, Krampus, “would harm children” because it might “frighten” them. She also said that the attorneys for the state expressed a fear that sticks carried as part of the Krampus costume might be used to hit children, but the state “never examined” whether a child faced an actual risk. The Obama-appointed judge said the reasons the state gave for excluding the Satanic Temple veer into viewpoint discrimination, writing that “excluding Krampus costumes because they might frighten children … targets a perspective on the holiday rather than the holiday itself.”“The Department may impose the same conditions it applies to other indoor events, and participants’ props remain subject to the Capitol’s ordinary security screening. What the Department may not do is exclude the event because Director Campbell understands Krampus to be a figure who harms children and takes them to hell,” Judge Rose said. An attorney for the Satanic Temple, Matt Kezhaya, said in a statement, “Congregants of The Satanic Temple have every right to live their authentic religious identity in public, and are entitled to the same dignity and the same access to public spaces as members of more familiar traditions.”“The tolerance protections in the First Amendment enforce our pluralistic society by generally prohibiting censorship, and doubly protecting religious expression from censorship,” Mr. Kezhaya said.The Satanic Temple says its event will include “caroling, coloring pages, make-and-take ornaments, religious observance, and a costumed holiday figure.”Going forward, the Satanic Temple says it will ask the court to find that Iowa officials violated its First Amendment rights and that it will seek damages for “past violations.”A spokesman for Iowa’s attorney general said the state plans to appeal the decision. In October, the Satanic Temple made Iowa news when former Ottumwa City Council member Matthew Dalbey, delivered the council’s opening prayer on behalf of the temple, ending with “Hail Satan.”

Satanic Temple Can Host Iowa Capitol Christmas Events: Federal Judge

Satanic Temple Can Host Iowa Capitol Christmas Events: Federal Judge

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