Iowa officials tried to block a Satanic event. They hurt homeless veterans instead.

A new policy banning multi-day events in the Iowa Capitol inadvertently targeted veterans looking for work

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It appears that Iowa officials, in order to prevent Satanists from holding a marathon reading of “Paradise Lost” inside the State Capitol, have blocked an event helping homeless veterans find jobs.

There are several moving parts to this story, so let’s start with The Satanic Temple and why the group is such a thorn in the side of Iowa Republicans.

Last December, a Satanic display went up in the State Capitol alongside a Nativity scene. Gov. Kim Reynolds called the innocuous display “absolutely objectionable.” A Christian zealot, Michael Cassidy, soon vandalized the display and has since been charged with a hate crime. But it’s the Satanists who have been punished over the whole debacle, with one GOP lawmaker even filing a bill to ban Satanic displays on public property (that bill, thankfully, didn’t go anywhere). You can bet administration officials will find a way to prevent certain displays from appearing in the Capitol this winter.

Reynolds has made no secret of her affection for Christian Nationalism. She even signed an “Iowa 99 County Bible Reading Marathon” proclamation for June 27 - July 3 and September 4-10. It calls on people across the state to “join in this historical event to take place in front of all 99 courthouses and… encourage individuals and families in Iowa to read through the Bible on a daily basis each year until the Lord comes.” (The proclamation falsely states that “In the 1960s, the Bible was removed from our nation’s schools” and that the nation was “founded upon biblical principles and Judeo-Christian ethics as taught in the Bible.”)

In response to that theocratic declaration, the Satanic Temple of Iowa opted to hold a marathon four-day reading of John Milton’s 1667 epic poem “Paradise Lost” inside the Capitol beginning September 16.

Paradise Lost is an epic poem that has been pivotal in imbuing the figure of Satan with enlightenment-era values in Romantic literature, the religion of Satanism, and popular culture

We are hopeful that this event will encourage Iowans to engage in respectful dialog about religious liberty, plurality, and the importance of diverse perspectives

The Satanists submitted the required permit application in early July. But then, on July 26, the very same day the reading was added to the Iowa Department of Administrative Services’ calendar of events, the office announced that it was changing its rules for who could use the Capitol space. From now on, events couldn’t last longer than one day.

That one-day limit, the officials told the Satanists, would also apply to holiday displays in the future. Maybe that’s a way to avoid weeks-long controversies in the future, but at least that rule would also apply to Nativity scenes. Still, it may all be moot. That final line, about requesters only being allowed to hold one event per calendar year, means that if the Satanists hold a one-day reading of “Paradise Lost” in the Capitol, they would be prohibited from erecting a display this December.

In fact, I was told by a source that the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers already filled out the paperwork to put a holiday display in the Capitol later this year, but that application was recently rejected because the same group held a “Reason on the Hill” lobbying event in the building in January. They used up their allotted yearly slot based on rules that only went into effect in July.

There was also another change from the earlier agreement. A new section at the end of the contract now prohibits any actions that might be seen as “obscene.”

Because the Capitol Complex is often a destination for children (persons under the age of eighteen) learning about their State government, visual displays, sounds, and other actions that are harmful to minors including, but not limited to, obscene materials (as defined in Iowa Code section 728.1(5)), and gratuitous violence or gore are not permitted at the Capitol Complex. “Obscene material” is any material depicting or describing the genitals, sex acts, masturbation, excretory functions or sadomasochistic abuse which the average person, taking the material as a whole and applying contemporary community standards with respect to what is suitable material for minors, would find appeals to the prurient interest and is patently offensive; and the material, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, scientific, political or artistic value. “Gratuitous violence or gore” means any depiction of severe bodily injury or blood, organs, or other bodily fluids, which the average person, taking the material as a whole and applying contemporary community standards with respect to what is suitable material for minors, would find appeals to the prurient interest and is patently offensive; and the material, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, scientific, political or artistic value.

Were those rules changed directly because of the Satanists’ request? And who gets to decide who’s obscene, offensive, or worthy of value? The Iowa Department of Administrative Services did not respond to my request for comment.

While the Satanists were just planning to read “Paradise Lost,” this rule change effectively stops them from doing anything in the Capitol that could be seen as offensive—now or in the future—and because of how vaguely the statute is defined, it’s possible that reading “Paradise Lost” could be seen as lacking “value” to the public… depending on who gets to make that call.

The Satanists said in a press release that their event would still go on at a different venue to be announced later.

But they also highlighted how a rule change meant to punish them had some untended consequences.

Last year, a group called Des Moines Homeless Veterans Stand Down organized an event offering free clothes, haircuts, and meals for people in need. They also helped veterans connect with local employers. Roughly 1,200 people attended and it was widely seen as a success. The group was planning on doing the same thing this year on September 12 in the Capitol but the revised One Day Only rule means they can’t hold their event there anymore—and, as a result, may not be able to hold it at all.

Event organizer Nick Lemmo said set-up alone exceeds the allowed time, and even if the event could be ready, one day is not enough time for visitors to connect with organizations attending without missing other opportunities at the event.

They’re currently scrambling to find a new venue.

The bottom line, though, is that Iowa Republicans’ desperate attempt to stop Satanists from reading a book in the Capitol may end up hurting homeless veterans looking for a job. That’s the GOP for you. They don’t care who’s caught in the crossfire as long as they can tell their base they won a “culture war” battle.

So far, the only sympathy for the people who may have benefitted from that event is coming from the Satanists:

The Satanic Temple of Iowa would like to express our support to Iowa’s unhoused population who have been unfairly targeted by this policy change, which we believe occurred due to the Iowa state government’s unwillingness to respect diverse perspectives and religious freedom.

Lucien Greaves, the co-founder of The Satanic Temple, told me separately that this is precisely why government officials ought to be neutral on religious matters:

The unintended negative consequences of populating our public offices with functionaries who do not understand the value of government viewpoint neutrality or pluralistic religious liberty are too numerous to anticipate. To now see homeless veterans potentially denied resources due to the simple pettiness of officials whose sole purpose in doing so is to limit religious expression that does not match their own should be an absolute outrage to any decent person, regardless of their religious beliefs.

So far, neither Reynolds nor her administration have responded to the chaos they’ve created.

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