The Satanic Temple and the ACLU of Iowa have filed a federal lawsuit after Iowa officials denied requests for a winter holiday event in the state Capitol rotunda.
According to ABC 4 and an ACLU of Iowa press release, the lawsuit names Iowa Department of Administrative Services Director Mark Campbell and forum Director Adam Steen. The groups allege state officials violated The Satanic Temple’s rights to free speech, religious exercise and nondiscrimination.
What the group wanted to hold
The proposed event was described by the ACLU as a “family-friendly winter holiday event” that would take place in the Capitol rotunda on the same basis as events held by other religious and civic groups.
KCRG reported that the event would have included caroling, crafts and a Krampus costume contest.
Britannica describes Krampus as a figure from central European folklore: a half-goat, half-demon monster associated with punishing misbehaving children at Christmastime and serving as a devilish companion of St. Nicholas.
Dispute over the costume contest
Matt Kezhaya, general counsel for The Satanic Temple, said Thursday that officials objected to the costume-contest portion of the proposed event.
“The state said that we were going to beat children with sticks because we were going to have a costume contest which involved people holding sticks,” Kezhaya said, according to the source material. “The local congregation of TST Iowa was very emphatic that wasn’t going to happen. For reasons not subject of judicial admissions, they just would not budge from that position.”
Earlier Capitol controversy
The lawsuit follows a 2023 controversy at the Iowa Statehouse, when The Satanic Temple displayed a holiday installation featuring Baphomet. Breitbart News reported at the time that some Christians objected to the display.
A Christian U.S. Navy veteran, identified as Michael Cassidy, was later charged with a hate crime after admitting he beheaded the statue at the Iowa State Capitol. Cassidy turned himself in to officers at the building.
In a statement cited in the source material, Cassidy said he acted to “awaken Christians to the anti-Christian acts promoted by our government.” He also argued that “none of the founders would have considered government sanction of Satanic altars inside Capitol buildings as protected by the First Amendment.”
Broader legal context
The ACLU has also recently joined a legal fight involving statues of Catholic saints on public property in Massachusetts, according to the source material.
The Satanic Temple has separately taken public pro-abortion positions, and Breitbart News has reported on the group’s involvement in opening abortion clinics.
The Iowa lawsuit asks a federal court to block state officials from enforcing what the plaintiffs describe as unconstitutional denials of the group’s proposed Capitol event. The state officials’ full legal response was not included in the provided source material.
