Shortly before Christmas, a fanatical Christian nationalist activist named Michael Cassidy drove from Mississippi to the state capitol in Iowa and proceeded to destroy a display that had been erected there by the Satanic Temple of Iowa, as protected by the First Amendment. Cassidy's actions were loudly praised by fellow right-wing political activists and candidates and a legal defense fund set up for him has so far raised nearly $90,000.
On Wednesday, Cassidy appeared on "The Stew Peters Show" to defend himself, claiming that when he saw the Satanic display, he was overcome with "righteous indignation" that something "so offensive" and "so anti-Christian" was allowed to be on display in a state capitol and he therefore took it upon himself to destroy it.
Peters, a far-right virulently anti-LGBTQ bigot who regularly uses his nightly program, speeches, and social media accounts to promote white nationalists and antisemites and to spread wild conspiracy theories, bigotry, and calls for violence, completely understood.
Cassidy's actions were completely justified, Peters asserted, because Satanists have no right to mock Christians.
"Righteous indignation is exactly right, and rightfully so," Peters declared. "This is Satan mocking us. By putting this Baphomet [statue] inside of the Iowa capitol building in Des Moines, that is mockery! That is Satanists and Satan's minions mocking Christians, mocking Christianity, mocking the very value system that this country was founded on that they then turn around and use as their justification that, 'We have the right to do this.' No, you don't! No, you don't."
