Satanic Temple accuses Iowa officials of religious discrimination

A damaged Satanic display is shown at the Iowa state Capitol on Dec. 15, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Scott McFetridge)

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Satanic Temple Iowa on Tuesday filed a complaint accusing state officials of discriminating against the group because of its members’ religion, having denied them access to the state Capitol building for a December holiday display and event.

The group’s holiday observances garnered national attention in 2023 after a Mississippi man destroyed their Iowa Statehouse display depicting the horned deity Baphomet, which was permitted in the rotunda along with a Christmas tree and other religious holiday installations.

The Satanic Temple Iowa’s application for a display and event in December 2024 was denied, a decision that the organization says violated its members’ constitutional rights and Iowa civil rights law.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement that state Capitol policies reflect the potential impact on children and families, given that they routinely visit the public building and spaces around it.

“This satanic event, which specifically targeted children, would have been harmful to minors and so it was denied,” Reynolds said.

A message seeking comment was left with the state’s Department of Administrative Services, which oversees the use of public space in the Iowa Capitol, and whose director, Adam Steen, is named on the complaint.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa filed the complaint with Iowa’s civil rights office Tuesday on behalf of Mortimer Adramelech, minister of Satan for the Iowa Satanic Temple congregation. Rita Bettis Austen, ACLU Iowa’s legal director, said the complaint with the civil rights office is the first step required before a legal claim of discrimination under Iowa civil rights law can be filed in court. The state’s ACLU chapter hopes the complaint will be enough for state officials to reverse course.

The ACLU of Iowa also filed a lawsuit in April after Reynolds’ office withheld or redacted requested records related to the Satanic Temple’s display and event, citing executive privilege.

Founded in 2013, the Salem, Massachusetts-based Satanic Temple says it doesn’t believe in Satan but describes itself as a “non-theistic religious organization” that advocates for secularism. It is separate from the Church of Satan, which was founded in the 1960s.

The complaint references a decision by Steen to deny the group’s application because obscene materials and gratuitous violence are not permitted in the building that regularly hosts children of all ages. Steen told the group the costumes they proposed for the event included sticks that could be “used as weapons on children” and “positions the event to be harmful to minors.”

The Satanic Temple alleges that was an “absurd, unfounded concern” used to justify the denial and that their application specified the event would be family friendly. The complaint cites open records that the organization says make it clear the governor’s office and Steen were meeting at the time to prepare a response.

“The simple truth is the State of Iowa does not want to allow Satanists to enjoy the same access to the Iowa State Capitol as other ‘mainstream’ religions, in particular Christianity, and in particular during the Christmas holiday season,” the complaint reads.

Hannah Fingerhut, The Associated Press