Former Mississippi political candidate and naval officer Michael Cassidy is facing felony hate crime charges for decapitating a satanic statue in Iowa.

The co-founder of the Satanic Temple that put the statue up claimed putting the statue in a public forum was an expression of religious freedom. Cassidy drove to Iowa to see it for himself and felt so strongly that it shouldn’t be there that he proceeded to destroy the statue.

In the charges against Cassidy, prosecutors cited a violation of individual rights under Iowa’s hate crime statute. In addition, they say evidence suggests Cassidy destroyed the statue due to the victim’s religion.

“I fail to see the victim here,” Sara Gonzales says. “Is the victim the statue? The victim is the person who created this beautiful statue that nobody wanted?”

The creators of the statue are claiming the cost to replace it is between $750 and $1,500.

“Our dark gods are cheap these days,” Chad Prather jokes.

Though he’s facing legal repercussions, Cassidy is now being hailed as a hero by many on the right — and the proof is in the GiveSendGo campaign that has raised over $105,000 for his legal defense.

While Gonzales is happy he’s being helped, she doesn’t find it comforting that Cassidy now has to take on the law.

“It’s just depressing because it’s like, well, they finally stood up and did something and what are the thanks? That they get thrown into prison? Who the hell is going to stand up next time?” Gonzales says.

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