(OPINION) A man who made national headlines for tearing down and beheading a Satanic display in the Iowa State Capitol believes his actions were the “right thing to do.”
“We should not tolerate Satan,” Michael Cassidy told CBN Digital, explaining why he decided to take action against the display.
After learning on social media The Satanic Temple had installed a display in the capitol building, Cassidy found himself concerned over its presence.
“When I saw it, I thought, ‘How on earth can Satanic icons be in the capitol?’” he said. “And I thought, ‘You know, it’s some kind of oversight. … some little bureaucracy.’”
Cassidy said he assumed the government would take it down once they realized what it was, considering the symbol was an attempt to “honor Satan.” But, once the display wasn’t removed, he said he got a plane ticket to Iowa and went to see the symbol for himself.
“Whatever emotion you may have felt looking at it online, it’s completely different when you are actually in the capitol,” Cassidy said. “I’m an American. I’ve been in the Navy for my entire adult life. I’ve fought to protect the country, and it wasn’t to protect Satan. We say, ‘So help me God,’ not ‘So help me Satan.’”
He continued, “It became very clear to me that this could not stand. … It was intolerable for it to be there and, so I did what I did.” Watch Cassidy explain:
