Who is Michael Cassidy? Man Who Beheaded Satanic Statue in Iowa Charged

Michael Cassidy, a 35-year-old Navy Reserve instructor pilot and self-styled "America First Conservative," has been charged with 4th-degree criminal mischief after allegedly tearing down and beheading a satanist statue that was on display at the Iowa State Capitol.

The display, made by the Satanic Temple Iowa, who said they were exercising their right to religious freedom, had already attracted significant controversy with a Christian group holding a prayer group on Wednesday in protest. It featured a human sized statue of Baphomet, a horned demon adopted for worship by some satanists, with a row of lit candles placed in front. Republican Governor Kim Reynolds urged Iowa residents to join her in "praying over the Capitol" in response to the "absolutely objectionable" display being installed.

After Thursday's incident a crowdfunding campaign was launched for Cassidy's legal fund, which raised $20,000 before being suspended upon hitting its target. Prominent donors included conservative campaign group Turning Point USA and The Daily Wire writer and documentary maker Matt Walsh, who gave $10,000 and $1,000 respectively.

In 2022 Cassidy launched an unsuccessful primary challenge against House Republican Michael Guest, who represents Mississippi's 3^rd Congressional District, coming within 300 votes in the first round before being solidly defeated in the subsequent runoff.

Cassidy was born in Annapolis, Maryland and raised in Arlington, Virginia. According to his campaign website he decided to join the U.S. military while in high school in response to the 9/11 attacks, which killed the father of one of his classmates.

In 2009 he was commissioned into the U.S. Navy and later moved to Virginia to serve as an F/A-18 Hornet pilot, including a tour on the USS George Washington.

Later Cassidy spent five years training naval aviators on the T-45 Goshawk, a small jet that is used by the U.S. navy to practice carrier landings. He currently works as a T-45 maintenance test pilot as a civilian, and remains a pilot with the Navy Reserves.

On his campaign website Cassidy describes himself as a "Christian conservative who loves our nation and is committed to preserving the blessings of liberty bestowed upon us by the Founding generation."

After Thursday's incident Cassidy shared a Bible versus on X, formerly Twitter, posting: "1 Peter 5:8 KJV Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." He later thanked donors to his crowdfunding campaign.

The Satanic Temple Iowa posted a video of the broken display on Facebook, stating the statue had been "broken beyond repair." The group added "justice is being pursued the correct way, through legal means."

In a statement sent to Newsweek, a spokesperson for the Satanic Temple Iowa said: "We were excited to participate in our Capitol's Holiday display for the first time this year. As you can expect, we were saddened to find our holiday display vandalized on the morning of December 14th. We believe that everyone should have the freedom to celebrate together and participate in the holiday season.

"We have rebuilt our display, and will complete our time in the Capitol on Saturday, with a few words about religious plurality and freedom of speech. The person responsible for the vandalism was identified, and we are pursuing legal recourse. We want to thank our community and everyone who has supported us at this time. We plan to return next year, with a sturdier and statelier display, and we hope that our community will continue to show up and assist with those efforts."

Newsweek has reached out to Cassidy for comment via the online contact form on his official website.

Satanic depictions have featured heavily in American popular culture, with a November 2021 Pew Research survey finding 62 percent of Americans believe Hell is real, up from 58 percent in 2014.

Update 12/16/23 4:00 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information.