A federal judge has ordered Iowa to allow Satanists to hold a contentious holiday event inside the state Capitol, overturning years of resistance from Republican officials.
The ruling, issued Monday, clears the way for the local Satanic Temple to stage its one-day gathering at the statehouse this December after officials repeatedly rejected its applications.
Republican leaders in Iowa’s House and Senate have long argued that the group’s proposed displays breach rules prohibiting excessive violence and obscene content.
State officials focused particular attention on a costume contest planned as part of the event.
The contest was expected to feature Krampus, the folkloric Christmas demon, with the character’s costume including bundles of sticks.
The Iowa Department of Administrative Services warned that the props could potentially ‘harm children’ or be used as weapons against them.
‘No more marketing to children,’ Adam Steen, the department’s former director, said after the application was rejected in 2024.
‘No more trying to get them to create Satanic symbols, sing Satanic hymns, partake in Satanic rituals,’ he added. ‘No more having youth involved in costume contests and defending weapons used to abuse youth.’
A federal judge has ordered Iowa to allow Satanists to hold a contentious holiday event inside the state Capitol (pictured), overruling years of opposition from Republican officials
Monday’s ruling allows the local Satanic Temple to hold its one-day event at the statehouse this December after officials repeatedly rejected its applications (display pictured)
The dispute escalated in August when The Satanic Temple sued Iowa Department of Administrative Services director Mark Campbell, his predecessor Adam Steen and the department
The dispute escalated in August, when The Satanic Temple sued Iowa Department of Administrative Services director Mark Campbell, his predecessor Adam Steen and the department itself.
In its lawsuit, reviewed by Our News Outlet, the group accused Iowa officials of conducting a years-long campaign of religious discrimination. It alleged that officials repeatedly blocked its holiday gathering while approving events proposed by other religious organizations.
The Satanic Temple based its arguments on free-speech protections, claiming that Iowa officials had violated both the Constitution and state law.
Although its name suggests otherwise, The Satanic Temple, founded in Salem, Massachusetts, in 2013, says it neither worships nor believes in Satan. Instead, it describes Satan as a symbol of individual liberty, religious pluralism and resistance to authoritarianism.
The organization says on its website that it is a ‘non-theistic religious organization’ committed to secularism and the separation of church and state.
Chief District Judge Stephanie Rose ruled Monday that the December gathering could proceed, finding that the Satanic Temple was likely to succeed with its free-speech claim.
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She rejected the state’s concerns about Krampus, the Christmas-season figure traditionally depicted as punishing misbehaving children. Rose ruled that the possibility of frightening children did not justify denying the event.
‘Excluding Krampus costumes because they might frighten children, while admitting the season’s celebratory displays, targets a perspective on the holiday rather than the holiday itself,’ she wrote.
Chief District Judge Stephanie Rose (pictured) allowed December’s gathering to proceed, finding that the Satanic Temple was likely to succeed with its free-speech claim
Founded in Salem, Massachusetts, in 2013, The Satanic Temple says it does not worship or believe in Satan, using him instead as a symbol of individual liberty, religious pluralism and opposition to authoritarianism
After the ruling, Shefali Aurora (pictured), an ACLU of Iowa staff attorney, said state officials denied TST permission to hold Capitol rotunda events because they opposed its religious viewpoint
The judge gave state officials seven days to approve the December 12 gathering, which is expected to include costumed Krampus characters, caroling, children’s coloring activities and ornament-making
Rose ordered state officials to approve the December 12 gathering within seven days. The planned event is expected to include costumed Krampus characters, caroling, children’s coloring activities and ornament-making.
Following the ruling, Shefali Aurora, an ACLU of Iowa staff attorney, said: ‘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.’
‘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,’ she added.
Matt Kezhaya, the Satanic Temple’s general counsel, said separately that the gathering was ‘always going to be a family-friendly’ event.
‘None of this became “harmful” just because state officials disapproved of our chosen expression,’ he wrote.
The legal fight is not over. The Iowa Attorney General’s Office said it would ‘immediately’ appeal Rose’s decision, maintaining that the event is unsuitable for a public venue where young children are welcome.
‘Families with young children visit the Capitol regularly, especially over the holiday season. The State of Iowa wants the Capitol complex to be safe and welcoming for those kids,’ Jen Green, a spokesperson for Attorney General Brenna Bird, said in a statement reported by The Guardian.
The Satanic Temple is also pursuing a permanent injunction and monetary damages over what it says were violations of its rights.
The latest dispute is not the first controversy involving the organization’s holiday displays at the Iowa Capitol.
In December 2023, the group installed a display featuring Baphomet, a goat-headed figure linked to occult imagery. The installation was later vandalized by a man who had traveled from Mississippi.
Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds condemned the display at the time as ‘absolutely objectionable,’ urging residents to pray over the Capitol and focus instead on the nativity scene exhibited alongside it.
