Col. John Eidsmoe: Are Satanists Protected by the First Amendment?

The Satanic Temple made national headlines last month for erecting a demonic display in the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. Local group leader Lucien Greaves claimed rights of protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
 
A military veteran, Michael Cassidy, who is a self-professed Christian, tore down and beheaded the satanic figurer – it had the body of a man and the head of a goat. He immediately turned himself in to police, who charged him with 4th degree criminal mischief.  Cassidey told them that he answers to God before bureaucrats, and said that the nation’s founding fathers would never have condoned the display.
 
Greaves called Cassidy’s actions cowardice, and many public officials have reluctantly backed Greaves over Cassidy, on the claim that the First Amendment protects everyone’s right to free expression of religion.
 
Colonel John Eidsmoe is an attorney, a law professor, retired military and a scholar at the Foundation for Moral Law in Montgomery, Alabama. As a pastor and Christian apologist, he has extensive experience in defending the foundational principles of the United States.
 
He visits with The New American to discuss the legalities of the situation and what Christians can do to defend their beliefs, especially since the phenomenon is becoming more common (see here, here and here). His foundation also provides legal solutions; you can contact the Foundation for Moral Law at https://www.morallaw.org/ or 334-262-1245