Target Will Only Learn Its Lesson On Radical LGBT Activism If We Keep The Boycott Going

Last year’s Target boycott effectively showed the pro-LGBT company that Americans are not messing around. Let’s do it again.

Judge upholds hate crime charges against Navy veteran who toppled satanic statue — but a jury will have the final word



A Christian Navy veteran toppled a satanic statue at the Iowa Capitol just before Christmas. A Democratic prosecutor subsequently slapped him with hate crime charges. This week, a judge ensured that the charges would stick.

While the Satanic Temple and the Democratic prosecutor might like to see Michael Cassidy ultimately locked up, his fate will be determined by a jury — a jury likely to contain at least a handful of sympathetic, God-fearing Americans.

"We believe that the jury will have the opportunity to consider all of the facts in this case, including Mr. Cassidy's military service and motivation," Davis Younts, Cassidy's lawyer, told Blaze News. "He was compelled by his faith to act to protect others."

'Enemy of humanity'

The Satanic Temple is an anti-Christian leftist organization that has performed public "unbaptisms"; advocated for mothers to kill their unborn babies by way of its "religious abortion ritual"; agitated to prevent chaplaincy in Florida schools; disseminated satanic literature to kids; held a demonization ceremony in protest of the canonization of the Catholic Spanish priest Junípero Serra; and pushed the LGBT agenda.

In recent years, the ST has also erected multiple demonic statutes across the country on public property. Ahead of Christmas 2023, the Satanic Temple raised one such statue — a ram-headed Baphomet statue holding a red pentacle — along with a satanic altar on the first floor of the Iowa Capitol.

We have reached the point where our Capitols are removing Jefferson while monuments to Satan are erected.\n\nRealize where we are.
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There was plenty of impotent rage in the face of the seemingly intentional Christmastime affront to both Christians and Muslims. After all, Blaze News previously reported that Baphomet possibly originated as a slight against the Muslim faith.

UCLA professor Zrinka Stahuljak indicated "Baphomet" was originally a French corruption of the name Mohamed. British historian Peter Partner suggested further that the Knights Templar, who reclaimed territory previously occupied by Islamic forces, were accused by inquisitors of worshiping Baphomet as part of what was likely a 14th-century smear.

Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) called the demonic altar "objectionable" but encouraged critics to engage in prayer at the state Capitol.

State Rep. Jon Dunwell (R), a Christian pastor, outlined why this was the optimal response, noting that the Satanic Temple successfully "petitioned for their display in August and were approved with some modification."

Lucien Greaves, co-founder of the ST, noted, "I would hope that even people who disagree with the symbolism behind our values, whether they know what those values [are] or not, would at least appreciate that it's certainly a greater evil to allow the government to pick and choose between forms of religious expression."

Younts, Cassidy's lawyer, told Blaze News, "The reality is that the Satanic Temple of Iowa chose a symbol of hatred, lies, death, and destruction in an effort to mock religious displays during the Christmas season. It would have been reasonable and appropriate for the State of Iowa to deny their application, the same way we would hope an application to display obscene material or a statue honoring Adolf Hitler would be denied."

"The idol was displayed as either a sincere attempt to worship Satan, the enemy of humanity, and promote lies, death, and destruction, or it was placed in an intentional effort to show hatred for and mock the Christian faith and traditional American values," added Younts.

Baphomet takes a tumble

After liking a post by Blaze News columnist Auron MacIntyre, which said, "Periodic reminder that the religious right were correct about everything," Cassidy, of Lauderdale, Mississippi, entered the Iowa Capitol on Dec. 14, 2023, and decapitated the Baphomet statue.

"I saw this blasphemous statue and was outraged. My conscience is held captive to the word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted," Cassidy, a former F/A-18 Hornet pilot who served on the USS George Washington, said in an interview with the Sentinel.

"The world may tell Christians to submissively accept the legitimization of Satan, but none of the founders would have considered government sanction of satanic altars inside Capitol buildings as protected by the First Amendment," Cassidy continued. "Anti-Christian values have steadily been mainstreamed more and more in recent decades, and Christians have largely acted like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot of water."

Cassidy was originally charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief. However, Polk County Democratic Attorney Kimberly Graham's office enhanced the charge to third-degree criminal mischief on the basis of Cassidy's statements both to law enforcement and the public indicating he destroyed the property due to its anti-Christian nature — or what prosecutors referred to as "the victim's religion."

The Sentinel suggested that Graham, a failed U.S. Senate candidate, might have a bias against conservatives, highlighting the $300,000 of in-kind campaign support she reportedly received from the George Soros-funded Justice and Public Safety PAC.

Cassidy's legal team, which similarly suspects the charging decision was the result of anti-conservative bias, recently attempted to axe the hate crime charges. However, on Tuesday, an Iowa judge denied the motion.

Younts told Blaze News, "The judge ruled against our motion to dismiss even though the DA's office could not produce a single example in Iowa or across the United States where a similar statute had been used to justify charging a hate crime where the 'victim' was an organization rather than an individual."

Jury selection is expected to begin Monday. Cassidy reportedly faces as many as five years in prison.

"Our message is simple — America was founded by men and women whose primary source for the Constitution and our system of government was the Bible and traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs," said Younts. "Because of the religious beliefs and influences of our founders, America has experienced a profound history of religious freedom and prosperity. Our society will continue to collapse into chaos and tyranny if we abandon those beliefs and biblical principles that made our nation possible."


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'Satan has no place in our society': DeSantis says he'll donate to legal defense of man who toppled Baphomet statue



Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced that he will donate to the legal defense fund for the man who toppled a Baphomet statue placed in the Iowa Capitol by the Satanic Temple Iowa.

"Satan has no place in our society and should not be recognized as a 'religion' by the federal government. I'll chip in to contribute to this veteran's legal defense fund," DeSantis wrote. "Good prevails over evil -- that's the American spirit."

The governor, who is currently vying for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has previously indicated that he is Roman Catholic.

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Michael Cassidy, who "pushed over and decapitated the statue," and then placed its head in a garbage can, according to a report by the Republic Sentinel, thanked DeSantis for the support.

"My deepest hope is that Americans of all political persuasions can unite and agree that: 1. Jesus Christ is Lord 2. Satan is evil," the Christian conservative and former Navy F/A-18 Hornet pilot tweeted.

On X, Cassidy describes himself as a "Christian, Test Pilot, Navy Reserve Instructor Pilot, America First Conservative" and "former Congressional Candidate MS-03." Last year, he lost the Republican primary runoff for the U.S. House seat in Mississippi's 3rd Congressional District. Then just last month, he lost a general election for a seat in the Mississippi House of Representatives.

The Sentinel, which reported that Cassidy turned himself in to authorities and has been charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief, launched a GiveSendGo fundraiser to support Cassidy's legal defense. The fundraiser was paused per Cassidy's direction because the initial $20,000 goal was swiftly reached, but it has since been reopened. So far, more than $43,000 has been raised.

"I've been notified of more potential legal charges unfortunately, so I've opened the legal fund donation back up. All donations in excess of what is directly related to my defense shall be donated to a Christian legal fund. Thank you again," Cassidy tweeted.

"Lots of people are asking me how they can help. Truly this is how you can help," Cassidy tweeted, telling Christians to "joyfully spread the Gospel and strengthen your faith in Jesus" and non-Christians to "Talk to your Christian friends or local church and learn about Jesus."

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The Satanic Temple Iowa said in a Facebook post, "We were informed by authorities that the Baphomet statue in our holiday display was destroyed beyond repair. We are proud to continue our holiday display for the next few days that we have been allotted."

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A 2021 gun arrest in NYC put investigators on the trail of a global satanic pedophile cult whose members try to push their victims to kill themselves



A 23-year-old was arrested in Queens, New York, in November 2021 on gun possession charges.

What investigators found on his social media pages and in his home put them hot on the trail of an international satanic pedophile cult whose members often pursue the "end-goal of forcing the minors they extort into committing suicide on live-stream for their own entertainment."

A devil-worshiping pedophile in Astoria

Angel Luis Almeida, who previously served an 18-month sentence in Florida for third-degree burglary, was arrested in late November 2021, after the FBI received several tips over the two previous months alleging he had "possessed firearms, was violent, and posted sexually explicit images of children online."

Among the multitude of red flags that prompted law enforcement to pounce were the various self-incriminating posts Almeida allegedly made on social media, reported the Guardian.

In one instance, he apparently posted an image of himself wearing bullet-laden bandoliers and spikes in front of a flag associated with a satanic/wiccan group called "Order of the Nine Angles" or "O9A," which is known for its anti-Semitism, its hatred for Christianity, its identitarianism, and its admiration for Osama Bin Laden, Adolf Hitler, and similar historic figures.

The BBC indicated that the O9A has roots going back to the 1960s and seeks the overthrow of the West's Judeo-Christian order.

In March, former Army Pvt. Ethan Meltzer was sentenced to 45 years in jail for plotting with O9A to kill his fellow soldiers. The traitor pleaded guilty in June 2022 to aiding and abetting the attempt to murder U.S. service members, providing material support and resources to terrorists, and illegally transmitting national defense information. His plan was thwarted in 2020 by the FBI and the U.S. Army.

Another post attributed to Almeida showed him wearing a shirt that said "Kiddie Fiddler," in front of a Nazi flag with a caption stating he was addicted to child porn.

The pedophile's detention memorandum makes clear that his residence, which law enforcement raided on Nov. 23, was a horror show.

They reportedly seized a 9mm Taurus handgun; bandoliers of rifle ammunition; over 30 rounds of 9mm ammunition; the satanic-Nazi flag seen in one of his social media posts; a blood-soaked drawing of a hooded figure with glowing red eyes, invoking various demons with a note stating, "A covenant signed in blood. May the DEVIL walk with you always - SATANE MANIBUS"; and various devil-worshiper books including "Lucifer Rising," "Liber Null & Psychonaut: An Introduction to Chaos Magic," "The Sinister Tradition: Order of Nine Angles," and "Necronomicon."

The Department of Justice noted that Almeida was charged in December 2021 with being a felon in possession of a firearm. In February 2023, the DOJ announced the satanic pedophile had also been charged with child exploitation and possession of child pornography, which had been recovered from multiple cell phones.

The Guardian indicated that Almeida was deemed fit to stand trial earlier this month, despite having attempted to attack a Justice Department staffer in the courtroom as well as his own legal representative on another occasion. His trial is scheduled for Dec. 4. Almeida faces possible life in prison.

They are legion

Almeida was apparently not alone.

After the satanist's arrest in New York, investigators reportedly picked up the trail of 764, an apparent offshoot of the Order of Nine Angles.

The FBI issued a warning on Sept. 12, detailing how there are "violent online groups deliberately targeting minor victims on publicly available messaging platforms to extort them into recording or live-streaming acts of self-harm and producing child sexual abuse material."

The groups, which operate on social media sites and mobile apps, use a variety of names, including 676, 764, CVLY, Court Kaskar, Harm Nation, Leak Society, and H3II.

According to the FBI, members of this "continuously evolv[ing]" pedophilic cabal use "threats, blackmail, and manipulation to control the victims into recording or live-streaming self-harm, sexually explicit acts, and/or suicide; the footage is then circulated among members to extort victims further and exert control over them."

Threats of swatting and doxxing are among the tactics used by the pedophiles.

Investigators indicated that membership in these groups often requires prospects to provide filmic evidence of their child victims hurting animals, hurting themselves, committing suicide, committing murder, or engaging in other acts of savagery.

The cabal targets victims between the ages of 8 and 17. Often, those targeted are non-straight youths, racial minorities, and the mentally ill.

According to the Guardian, these pedophilic cultists prey on children in popular games like Roblox, on gaming platforms such as Discord and Twitch, and on Telegram.

The New York Post reported that 764 has previously struck overseas. A German teen with "764" tattoos as well as "necro," a word employed by Almedia in his online handles, allegedly slaughtered his Romanian foster family.

Safety measures

The FBI noted in its warning earlier this month that the public should consider the following when sharing content or engaging others online:

  • "Monitor children's online activity and discuss risks associated with sharing personal content";
  • "Use discretion when posting images, videos, and personal content, particularly those that include children or their information";
  • "Run frequent online searches of you and your children's information ... to help identify the exposure and spread of personal information on the internet";
  • "Apply privacy settings on social media accounts — including setting profiles and your friends' lists as private — to limit the public exposure of your photos, videos, and other personal information";
  • "Consider using reverse image search engines to locate any photos or videos that have circulated on the internet without your knowledge";
  • "Exercise caution when accepting friend requests, communicating, engaging in video conversations, or sending images to individuals, you do not know personally. Be especially wary of individuals who immediately ask or pressure you to provide them photos or videos";
  • "Do not provide any unknown or unfamiliar individuals with money or other items of value";
  • "Use discretion when interacting with known individuals online who appear to be acting outside their normal pattern of behavior";
  • "Secure social media and other online accounts using complex passwords or passphrases and multi-factor authentication"; and
  • "Research the privacy, data sharing, and data retention policies of social media platforms, apps, and websites before uploading and sharing images, videos, or other personal content."

Victims are urged to contact the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, the FBI's field office at 1-800-225-5324, and/or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

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