Michael Cassidy fundraiser raises over $53,000 as Christian veteran speaks out after destroying satanic statue at Iowa State Capitol

Michael Cassidy's legal defense fund has raised over $53,000 after the military veteran was charged with 4th-degree criminal mischief for destroying the Satanic Temple's display inside the Iowa State Capitol on Thursday, December 14.

According to Fox News, the statue of Baphomet, a humanoid with the body of a man and the head of a goat, was placed in the Iowa State Capitol with the approval of authorities last week. The statue was placed by the Satanic Temple of Iowa in the government building to represent the group's right to religious freedom.

On Thursday, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael Cassidy, who calls himself a Christian conservative, destroyed the statue and turned himself into the police.

In the wake of the incident, many have come to the defense of Cassidy, including conservative media outlet The Sentinel, which launched a fundraising campaign to help cover Cassidy’s legal costs. The crowdfunding campaign created on the Christian fundraising website GiveSendGo has raised over $53,000, surpassing its initial target of 20,000.

---

Michael Cassidy says he was "offended" by the satanic display

In a GiveSendGo campaign launched by Republic Sentinel to cover Michael Cassidy’s legal fund, they said that the military veteran was notified of an additional investigation in connection to destroying the Satanic altar in the Iowa State Capitol. The additional investigation comes after he was initially slammed with a misdemeanor charge. The fundraising campaign said:

“Michael Cassidy has been notified of an additional investigation related to him tearing down and beheading the Satanic altar in the Iowa State Capitol."

The Sentinel, while urging donors for additional donations to cover the unexpectedly higher legal costs, added:

"This campaign raised the approximately $20,000 initially needed for his legal defense in less than three hours and so was paused on the evening of December 14, but his attorneys will challenge the investigation and now anticipate much higher expenses.”

Meanwhile, Cassidy appeared on a Fox News segment with Jesse Waters on December 16 and defended his actions. Cassidy explained that he tore down the statue because "it was extremely anti-Christian."

Cassidy added that the display "offended" him and "touched a nerve.” While describing his actions as “Christian disobedience,” Cassidy revealed that he pulled the statue’s head off.

“Tore it down, put it in a garbage bag and then I went down to security and told them what I did. I wasn’t running away or anything.”

Fox News reported that Michael Cassidy, who went on to become a T-45 instructor pilot after his deployment, ran an unsuccessful campaign against Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss, in 2022.

---

Shortly before the statue was destroyed, the co-founder of The Satanic Temple, Lucien Greaves, told KCCI Des Moines that the display would remain up in the Iowa State Capitol for two weeks.

"We're going to really relish the opportunity to be represented in a public forum. We don't have a church on every street corner," Greaves said. "My feeling is if people don't like our display in public forums, they don't have to engage with them. They don't have to view them."

After the statue was decimated, in a Facebook post, The Satanic Temple of Iowa wrote that the display was "beyond repair" and noted that they would pursue charges against Cassidy.