The Christian military vet who demolished a satanic statue in Iowa in defense of his faith has now been charged with a hate crime.
According to KCCI in Des Moines, Michael Cassidy, a U.S. Navy veteran from Mississippi, was first charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, after he admitted in December that he battered a demonic statue erected in Iowa’s state Capitol building.
But now state prosecutors have upped the charge against Cassidy.
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KCCI reported that he faces the more serious offense of felony third-degree criminal mischief. Prosecutors claimed in court records that Cassidy acted “in violation of individual rights” under Iowa’s hate-crime law.
“Evidence shows the defendant made statements to law enforcement and the public indicating he destroyed the property because of the victim’s religion,” Lynn Hicks, spokesman for the Polk County Attorney’s Office, told KCCI in a statement.
The Satanic Temple, the group behind the statue, said at the time that their display was “destroyed beyond repair.” Cassidy retorted that his “conscience is held captive to the word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted.”
For that, Cassidy now faces up to five years in prison — a significantly more severe penalty than the one year in jail and $2,560 fine he initially faced, if convicted.
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Noting the news about Cassidy, the conservative X account Libs of TikTok posted, “Violent activists tore down dozens of statues including [Christopher] Columbus, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington. None were held accountable or charged with a hate crime.”
“Michael Cassidy knocks over a Satan statue made out of household items and gets charged with a hate crime,” the post added. “Welcome to America’s 2-tier justice system. The police state made it clear who they worship. Wokeness and Satanism is the new religion.”
At the time of the incident, Cassidy had earned the respect of one prominent politician who offered to help if he ended up in a legal jam.
“Satan has no place in our society and should not be recognized as a ‘religion’ by the federal government,” Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis posted on X.
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“I’ll chip in to contribute to this veteran’s legal defense fund. Good prevails over evil — that’s the American spirit.”
According to the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo, a legal defense fund established to help Cassidy has raised almost $115,000.
It’s unclear if DeSantis is one of the donors.
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