Iowa must make room in its Capitol for a Satanic Temple holiday event, after a federal judge found the state likely shut the group out over its message.
Story Snapshot
- Iowa denied the Satanic Temple’s holiday event three years running, citing a rule against displays “harmful to minors.”
- A federal judge ruled the denials likely violated free speech, since Christmas trees, nativity scenes and menorahs were allowed.
- The state has seven days to approve the one-day event, set for Saturday, December 12.
- The state attorney general’s office says Iowa will appeal.
- The same equal-access rule that lets the Satanic Temple in is the rule that keeps officials from pulling a church display, like a nativity scene, that they dislike.
Judge’s Order Compels Iowa To Approve Permit
Chief U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose ruled on Monday, November 2, that the Satanic Temple is likely to win its free speech case against the state. She ordered Mark Campbell, director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services, the agency that manages the Capitol, to approve the group’s application within seven days. Her order is a preliminary injunction, which means it is in force while the lawsuit goes on, but it is not a final ruling.
The state is fighting back. The office of Attorney General Brenna Bird, Iowa’s chief lawyer, says the state intends to appeal. No appeals court ruling on the order had been reported as of Tuesday, November 3.
State’s Child-Safety Reasons And Krampus Concerns
Iowa’s Capitol rules ban displays, sounds or actions that are “harmful to minors,” including obscene material and gory violence. State officials said the Capitol is often a destination for children. In 2024, then-director Adam Steen turned the group down, pointing to costumes with sticks that he said could be used as weapons on children. The costumes were for a Krampus contest. Krampus is a horned figure from European folklore who punishes badly behaved children at Christmas.
The group applied again in 2025 and 2026 and got the same two-sentence rejection email both times. Campbell testified he turned down those requests because they matched the 2024 one. The Satanic Temple’s Iowa chapter says no child would be harmed, and email records show it offered to hold the event without the costume contest.
Why The Judge Ruled Against The State
Judge Rose said the state cannot block speech only to keep children away from ideas officials find unsuitable. She also found the “harmful to minors” rule has no clear limit, noting Campbell’s testimony that “harm” is “a big word” that can include scaring a child. Excluding Krampus because he is frightening, while welcoming other holiday displays, likely singles out one view of the holiday. Courts call that viewpoint discrimination, and the Constitution bars it once the government opens a space to the public.
On the sticks, the judge said the state has no rule against such props, never asked the group to drop them, and already screens every visitor at the door. Props will go through that same screening. The court did not find that Campbell personally held a grudge against the group’s beliefs.
Who The Satanic Temple Is
The Satanic Temple was founded in 2013 in Salem, Massachusetts. It calls itself a non-theistic religious group, which means it does not believe in a god or in Satan, and it says it promotes secularism, the view that government should stay out of religion. It is separate from the Church of Satan. The planned event includes a ritual, caroling, coloring pages and ornament making. In 2023, the state approved a Satanic Temple display in the Capitol, a statue of a goat-headed figure called Baphomet, which a Mississippi man later destroyed. He pleaded guilty to criminal mischief.
For anyone who wants a nativity scene in a public building, the ruling carries a lesson. The same equal-access rule that lets the Satanic Temple in is the rule that keeps officials from pulling a church display they dislike.
What Comes Next
Within ten days of the order, Campbell must tell the court what conditions he puts on the event and confirm they match the rules for other indoor events. The group’s other claims, including its request for damages over past denials, are still before the court. Iowa’s appeal would go to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal appeals court that covers Iowa.
Sources:
courthousenews.com, cbs2iowa.com, iowacapitaldispatch.com, newser.com