Satanic holiday display at Minnesota Capitol causes controversy
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Satanic holiday display at the Minnesota State Capitol has some sounding the alarm but the governor says he can't take it down.
The Minnesota Satanists put up its holiday display at the Capitol Building in St. Paul over the weekend.
The group says its members don't worship Satan or believe in Satan, but called the display a win for "religious plurality."
Republicans blame Gov. Tim Walz for letting it go up.
"Is there anything Tim Walz won't do to insult Minnesotans?" Republican Rep. Tom Emmer tweeted.
Republican Rep. Pete Stauber agreed with Emmer's sentiment, writing on X, "When you get a DFL trifecta, you get a Satanic display at our state Capitol. During the holidays...what a disgrace. Only in Walz's Minnesota."
The governor's office says while Walz does not agree with the display and did not approve it, the First Amendment —which guarantees the freedom of religion, among others — allows for the display.
"...the First Amendment means that he does not police speech in the State Capitol. That's true whether it's a religious display, a political protest, or a Minnesotan advocating for a policy," a spokesperson for Walz said in a statement to WCCO.
Last December, the Satanic Temple put up a display inside the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines that a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot was later accused of destroying. Similar to the Minnesota Satanists, the Satanic Temple doesn't believe in Satan but describes itself as a "non-theistic religious organization" that advocates for secularism
