Turning Point USA has pledged a $10,000 donation to support the legal defense fund for Michael Cassidy, the Christian military veteran who beheaded the Satanic statue in the Iowa State Capitol.
Charlie Kirk, the founder of TPUSA and host of The Charlie Kirk Show, announced his support for the “Satan Slayer” on X.
“Michael Cassidy just beheaded a monument to Satan inside the Iowa State Capitol building. The Satanic Temple of Iowa is pressing charges and Cassidy is facing fourth-degree criminal mischief. Turning Point USA is proud to pledge $10,000 to his legal defense fund. We stand with Satan Slayer @VoteCassidy,” Kirk said.
On Thursday, Michael Cassidy pushed over and decapitated the statue of Baphomet, which was placed in the building by members of the Satanic Temple of Iowa after receiving permission, and discarded the head of the statue into the trash.
Cassidy told The Sentinel that he destroyed the satanic altar to “awaken Christians to the anti-Christian acts promoted by our government.”
“The world may tell Christians to submissively accept the legitimization of Satan, but none of the founders would have considered government sanction of Satanic altars inside Capitol buildings as protected by the First Amendment,” Cassidy said. “Anti-Christian values have steadily been mainstreamed more and more in recent decades, and Christians have largely acted like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot of water.”
Cassidy turned himself in to officers who were present in the building, who confirmed that the Satanic Temple of Iowa seeks to press charges. Cassidy was charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief.
“I saw this blasphemous statue and was outraged,” Cassidy said. “My conscience is held captive to the word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted.”
Cassidy previously ran for Congress in Mississippi and served as a Navy pilot.
The display drew outrage, with Iowa Lawmaker saying, “I am calling for our governor to have this blasphemous display removed immediately based on the grounds that it is unconstitutional and offends God upon whom the State of Iowa depends for blessings.”
“I am calling for clarifying legislation to be adopted in accordance with our State Constitution that prohibits satanic displays in our Capitol building and on all state owned property. I am calling for legislation to be adopted that makes it legal to display the Ten Commandments in our Capitol, in all buildings owned by the state, and in our public schools.”
The display was permitted to be in the capital building for two weeks, and featured a mirrored, caped statue of Baphomet, complete with a black and red “holiday wreath” with a pentagram in the center.
