Thread by @SchmuelDavid

...rally held by the Satanic Temple at the Arkansas State Capitol...comes after the AR legislature approved placement of Ten Commandments monument on Capitol grounds.
During the Satanic Temple's Rally...more than 8' Bophomet statue was unveiled.
👀
katv.com/news/local/hun…

This is in response to a 10 Commandment statue that was erected on the Arkansas Capitol grounds in 2017, fulfilling Act S1231 which required the monument be built somewhere on Capitol grounds.

religionnews.com/2017/06/27/con…

"The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas and other opponents have vowed to sue over the controversial display, which was erected Tuesday morning (June 27). They believe the privately funded monument is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion."

AK Sen. Jason Rapert "in 2005 the US Supreme Court validated and confirmed the Texas 10 Commandments Monument...when you walk into the US Supreme Court...etched in those doors are the 10 Commandments."

This monument lasted 1 day.
"...was toppled less than 24 hours later after a 32-year-old Arkansas man drove a vehicle into the statue, apparently while streaming the act live on Facebook, officials said."
arkansasonline.com/news/2017/jun/…

It was the 2nd time Reed had destroyed a Ten Commandments monument.
"arrested in 2014 for driving a car into the Ten Commandments monument at OK state Capitol..He was admitted to a hospital the next day for mental treatment and was not formally charged,"
npr.org/sections/thetw…

In 2018 the monument was erected again.
"new Ten Commandments monument is protected on all four corners by thick concrete bollards — a step that was taken after Michael Reed drove his car into the first monument hours after it was installed in 2017..."
npr.org/sections/thetw…

April 28, 2018.
"Satanic Temple are preparing a lawsuit against the state of Arkansas, alleging religious discrimination in the wake of the erection this week of a monument to the Ten Commandments."
arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/a…

"Satanic Temple proposed its own monument of a Baphomet statue but efforts were blocked by a law preventing the Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission from considering the statue until it was approved by the Legislature."

katv.com/news/local/sat…

Today the Satanic Temple held at rally outside the Arkansas Capitol Grounds, and brought a 6" Baphomet statue with them.

https://twitter.com/KATVMarine/status/1030157375456641026

"Baphomet (/ˈbæfoʊmɛt/; from Medieval Latin Baphometh, Baffometi, Occitan Bafometz) is an idol of a deity that the Knights Templar were accused of worshipping and that subsequently was incorporated into disparate occult and mystical traditions."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baphomet

"The image of Baphomet has graced everything from heavy metal albums to religious propaganda, and tends to be used as a symbol of evil. Yet Baphomet is a far, far more complex symbol."
ultraculture.org/blog/2016/02/0…

The Baphomet statue unveiled today by the Satanic Party in Arkansas features two young children gazing adoringly (or fearfully?) up at it.

The Satanic Party failed with legislative approaches, but as long as a rally is peaceful (with proper permits if necessary) it should be allowed in America, however shocking it may be.

https://twitter.com/KATVMarine/status/1030165229479636993

AK Sen @jasonrapert's response is very well written.
"The United States Constitution guarantees the rights of all American citizens to express their political opinions, to peacefully assemble and to petition their government."
facebook.com/RapertSenate/p…

"Though our state is being visited today by outsiders...uplifting the profane and proclaiming extremely unorthodox views, rest assured that though we respect their right to free speech, they must also respect our right to disagree with them and repudiate their false claims."

"The people of AK exercised their rights to place a monument on state Capitol grounds which honors influence of the Ten Commandments as an historical and moral foundation of law. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld this same right in 2005 for the people of TX in Van Orden v. Perry."

"...U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C....Ten Commandments engraved on the doors entering the court chamber...Moses engraved above the chair in which the Chief Justice sits."

" If the display of the Ten Commandments is appropriate for the U.S. Supreme Court and these other states, it is also appropriate for the good people of Arkansas."
theindianreporter.com/legendary_emai…

"...it will be a very cold day in hell before an offensive statue will be forced upon us to be permanently erected on the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol. Our Supreme Court ruled in...Pleasant Grove v. Summum that no group can force a government body to do such a thing."

"I pledge to all Arkansans that we will defend the will of the Arkansas people...It was my honor to sponsor the bill which led to passage of the Arkansas Ten Commandments Monument Act and I hope to help every state in our nation do the same if they wish to do so."