Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he will help pay legal fees for a Christian veteran who demolished a satanic display in Iowa’s state capitol.
“Satan has no place in our society and should not be recognized as a ‘religion’ by the federal government,” DeSantis posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday. “I’ll chip in to contribute to this veteran’s legal defense fund. Good prevails over evil — that’s the American spirit.”
The Republican governor and presidential candidate was reacting to charges filed last week against Michael Cassidy of Lauderdale, Mississippi.
Related: Christian Military Vet Says He Decapitated Satanic Statue In Iowa State Capitol
Cassidy, like DeSantis a U.S. Navy veteran, was charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief after the idol honoring the Prince of Darkness was “destroyed beyond repair,” as the Satanic Temple of Iowa said on Facebook, according to the Des Moines Register.
“My conscience is held captive to the word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted,” Cassidy explained, the Register added.
If convicted, Cassidy could be sentenced to one year in jail and a $2,560 fine.
Earlier last week, DeSantis criticized the display, saying, “That’s not a religion.”
The homage to Satan created heat among conservatives for Iowa GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds, who endorsed DeSantis in the Republican presidential primary.
In denouncing it, Florida’s governor took a shot at his main primary rival, former President Donald Trump.
Read: Top Strategist For Florida Gov. DeSantis PAC Resigns Just Weeks Before Iowa Caucus
“How did it get there? Is it even a religion? Lo and behold, the Trump administration gave them approval to be under the IRS as a religion. So that gave them the legal ability to potentially do it,” DeSantis said at a townhall meeting in Iowa on Monday.
Forbes reported that the IRS recognized the Satanic Temple as a church in 2019.
Forbes reported on Friday that a legal defense fund set up for Cassidy had already raised more than $30,000.
In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Satanic Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves bashed DeSantis, challenging him to debate whether his group is an actual religion.
“It’s just another display of cowardice from a politician who wants to play ignorant,” he said. “I think he knows better. I would be happy to debate him at any point, but I do think he is being a pathetic little coward when he calls us – when he tries to use us as a ploy to appeal to a mob of people who just don’t understand what somebody like him very well should understand and should convey to the public instead of riling up fears and animosity between different people.”
“We don’t want to yield some kind of power to the government to begin picking and choosing between religious groups,” he added.
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