Judge rules Iowa officials must allow satanic event in state Capitol

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, November 03, 2026

A federal judge ruled Monday that Iowa state officials must allow a local chapter of The Satanic Temple to hold an event in the state Capitol this holiday season, marking the latest escalation in the state over devil worship in the public square.

Chief U.S. District Judge Stephanie M. Rose wrote that the Iowa Department of Administrative Services, which handles event scheduling at the Capitol, cannot prohibit the Iowa Satanic Temple from conducting a "Krampus" celebration, according to The Guardian. The Obama appointee ruled that officials violated the satanic group's First Amendment rights by repeatedly rejecting their event permit applications in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

"The Department may impose the same conditions it applies to other indoor events, and participants' props remain subject to the Capitol's ordinary security screening," she wrote. "What the Department may not do is exclude the event because Director Campbell understands Krampus to be a figure who harms children and takes them to hell."

According to European folklore, the Krampus is a horned demonic figure who accompanies St. Nicholas as he visits children on "Krampusnacht" in early December, delivering birch rods as punishment to naughty children while St. Nicholas delivers gifts to good children.

The Satanic Temple, supported by the ACLU of Iowa, filed a lawsuit in August arguing that blocking their Iowa chapter from hosting the Krampus event on state property was unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination against their religious expression and free speech.

Under the injunction granted by Rose, the satanic group is now permitted to hold a gathering featuring satanic caroling, coloring for children, ornament-making and Krampus costumes. Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird's office has stated their intent to appeal the ruling.

Shefali Aurora, ACLU of Iowa staff attorney, praised Rose's ruling in a statement following the court order.

"State officials have made it clear that they denied TST permission to hold events in the Capitol rotunda because they disagreed with their religious viewpoint," Aurora said. "It is a foundational principle that the government cannot restrict speech in this way, favor one religion over another, or discriminate against religious groups because they don't agree with them."

Iowa has repeatedly featured at the forefront of civic disputes over satanic displays in the U.S. Earlier this month, former Ottumwa City Council member and Satanic Temple member Matt Dalbey delivered a satanic invocation at an Ottumwa City Council meeting.

Calling Satan his "dear dark father," Dalbey prayed for the city to "embrace the Luciferian impulse to eat of the tree of knowledge," a reference to the Eden account of Genesis 3 in which the Serpent deceived mankind into believing they could attempt to be their own gods without death.

After praying that those gathered would "reason our solutions with agnosticism in all things" and "stand firm against any and all arbitrary authority that threatens the personal sovereignty of one or all," Dalbey concluded: "Hail Satan."

The invocation prompted outrage from the public, including from Ottumwa Mayor Benjamin Foote, a Christian who told The Christian Post that he was "shocked" by the demonic prayer but that city policy allows it under the First Amendment.

In December 2023, TST of Iowa drew national attention for erecting a statue of Baphomet alongside Nativity scenes in the Iowa state Capitol, stoking widespread backlash and debate among Republican state lawmakers over its legality.

Michael Cassidy, a U.S. Navy veteran, drove to Iowa from Mississippi and toppled the statue, tossing its pool-noodle arms in the garbage. He turned himself in and was charged with felony mischief and a hate crime before taking a plea agreement in May 2024.

During an interview with CP at the time, Cassidy argued that Americans who believe devil worship is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and should be tolerated are overthinking evil and missing the obvious purpose of religious liberty protections.

"The people who wrote our Constitution would be shocked to think of defending Satan as consistent with their beliefs when they wrote the laws that govern our nation," Cassidy said.

"People start overcomplicating the truth, which is that God is great and should be honored, and the devil is evil and should not be honored. I think people are tying themselves in knots trying to justify it, and it's really a lot simpler than that," he added.

The late Pastor John MacArthur defended Cassidy at the time, telling his Los Angeles congregation that he "absolutely" supported what Cassidy did, but noted he will have to face negative consequences in an apostate society that increasingly hates God while rewarding evil and punishing the righteous.