TOPEKA — The bullhorn-powered war of words between Satanists and Catholics boiled over into brawling and a handful of arrests Friday during an extraordinary event at the Kansas Capitol that pushed boundaries of free speech and the separation of church and state.
After about two hours of speeches, prayers and sign waving among hundreds of people mostly segregated by barricades staffed by law enforcement officers, Satanic Grotto president Michael Stewart, with supporters and reporters in tow, entering the Statehouse to conduct what he had described as a black mass. He was warned at the door to the visitors’ center that any formal protest inside the building that violated a permit limiting his religious expression to the lawn or steps of the Capitol would result in his arrest for trespassing.
In the rotunda, Stewart began the rebellious form of a mass and was interrupted by three people intent on stopping was could be interpreted as a mockery of their faith. An unidentified man and woman, with young kids at their side, physically intervened to stop Stewart. He turned away from them. Counter-protester Marcus Schroeder joined the fray and twice reached to take papers from Stewart’s hand. Stewart responded by punching Schroeder in the face twice. More than half a dozen Capitol Police wrestled Stewart to the floor to make the arrest.
“I’m not resisting. I’m not resisting. I’m not resisting,” Stewart repeatedly yelled.
Schroeder, who wore a shirt declaring “Death is not welcome here,” wasn’t arrested by Capitol Police. In an interview, he defended his maneuvering to thwart Stewart.
“I tried to take his papers. He punched me in the face,” he said.
After the area cleared, two other satanists tried to pick up where Stewart left off and were taken into custody. One other person was cuffed and taken away by law enforcement outside the Capitol on Friday. An individual grabbed Stewart by the legs in a bid to stop Stewart from stomping on crackers intended to represent those used in a Catholic mass to represent the consecrated body and soul of Christ. In that brief exchange, Stewart also punched the guy before law enforcement stepped in.
Hundreds of Christians upset with an organization’s plan to conduct a satanic black mass at the Capitol delivered a robust counter-protest to emphasize their disdain for followers of Satanic Grotto. Both sides of the debate used bullhorns to punctuate their messages, creating a blended sound that was difficult for anybody to hear clearly. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)
“He was was trying to tackle me to get to the cracker underneath,” Stewart said. “I was able to kind of fend him off. I do think he may have picked up the crumbled cracker and ate it. Did I get physical with him? Yes.”
The colorful display of affection and affliction for organized religion culminated attempts by Gov. Laura Kelly, Attorney General Kris Kobach, leaders of the Kansas Legislature and Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, to derail the demonstration planned by Satanic Grotto.
Kelly had the group’s permit amended so no protest could transpire inside the Capitol. Legislative leaders modified policy regarding use of the Capitol to specifically target Satanic Grotto. Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Wichita, said the First Amendment didn’t protect offensive speech or violations of law.
Francis Slobodnik, a Topeka representative of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, told hundreds of Catholics gathered on the south side of the Capitol that state public officials shouldn’t have allowed satanists to assemble on public property. He said the event reflected a misguided understanding of freedom of speech and religion and a lack of appreciation for how a black mass represented worship of Satan.
“Today’s horrific event, the first of its kind in the history of Kansas, is a sacrilege,” Slobodnik said. “Of course, there have been terrible crimes and injustices that have happened in our state over the years. However, nothing in our past compares with what is happening today where God is being directly challenged on the state Capitol grounds. The state Capitol represents all of us.”
He praised the people present at the rally to stand in opposition to Satanic Grotto, referring to them as the Navy Seals of the Catholic faith. He said these activists were willing to confront God’s enemies head-on as if on a field of battle. He said the great sin perpetrated by Stewart and other worshipers of Satan meant that others had to step into the void.
“Satanists do not realize that Satan hates all of God’s creation, including them,” Slobodnik said. “Their reward for worshiping and serving him will be eternal fire.”
Former U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, who served in the Kansas Senate before elected to Congress, said he consulted with a priest with experience in exorcism to figure whether he should participate in a television interview with Stewart.
“Father had a simple question: ‘Why would you do this? What do you hope to gain?’ I stumbled around in my answer,” Huelskamp said. “I wanted to share the truth about Christ. The truth about the Eucharist. His summary response was quite stunning to me. He said, ‘There is no good that could come from being in the same room with a Satanist.’”
Huelskamp said it was suggested his participation in the interview with Stewart might serve interests of Satan. The former Republican congressman woke ill the next day, and cancelled the interview. In the end, Huelskamp said he decided it was important to run to the fire created by Satan rather than shrink from it. He said it was the same as making his views known about the evil of abortion and defending the sanctity of marriage between a man and woman.
“I am quite stubborn and hardheaded,” he said. “We cannot be silent. We are required, if we call ourselves Christians, if we call ourselves Catholic, we are publicly required to defend the faith and to stand up for the truth.”
In an interview amid calm before the storm of his arrest, Stewart said he was convinced Catholics assembled around him didn’t understand why Satanic Grotto was at the Capitol to talk about religious oppression.
“What we only want is the rights that every American has,” Stewart said. “I’ve heard people say we’re setting a precedent. Well, if the precedent is freedom of religion for everyone in public spaces, yes, that’s what we’re trying to establish. We are dragging this issue out in the light and we’ll let the people look at it. The issue is that we’re not all being treated the same here.”
This story was produced by the Kansas Reflector which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network, including the Daily Montanan, supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.