Iowa Once Again Blocks Satanic Temple Holiday Event at State Capitol
Officials cite obscenity rules as ACLU presses discrimination claims.
DES MOINES — Iowa officials have again denied a request by the Satanic Temple of Iowa to hold a holiday event in the State Capitol rotunda, citing the same obscenity guidelines used to reject the group’s application last year.
According to reporting from the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS), which oversees events at the Capitol, said Monday that the proposal violated rules barring “obscene materials,” including depictions of “gratuitous violence or gore.” A DAS spokesperson said the agency denied the request “on the grounds the event was also denied last year,” adding that the review process “has remained the same.”
Former DAS Director Adam Steen — now a Republican candidate for governor — publicly celebrated the decision. “This is not religious expression. It’s not free speech, it is evil,” Steen said at a press conference in the rotunda. “The reasons I denied this event last year are the same reasons it was denied this year.”
The Satanic Temple’s previous proposal included Satanic holiday carols, ornament-making, a Krampus costume contest and a candlelit procession. Steen allowed a display in 2023, which he said was "different," but has since banned last year's and this year's proposals, calling elements of the celebration “harmful to minors.”
“I did that because it was not a matter of whether or not it was harmful to minors," Steen said of the 2023 decision. "It's a static statue, and I did not want to fight a free-speech issue at that time."
The denial comes as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa pursues legal action over last year’s decision, accusing Gov. Kim Reynolds, Steen and DAS of violating the Iowa Civil Rights Act and the temple’s First Amendment rights. The group argues the state cannot restrict access to a public forum on the basis of disfavored beliefs.
“The government is not permitted to deny public services or benefits because officials disagree with a group’s viewpoints,” said the temple’s general counsel, Matt Kezhaya. “They can’t legally exclude The Satanic Temple from a space open to other religious groups.”
The controversy follows the destruction of the Temple’s 2023 Capitol display — featuring an inverted pentagram and a Baphomet figure — by a Mississippi political candidate who later pleaded guilty to criminal mischief.
"This moment proves this is a battle between good and evil," Steen said. "Good has won." Steen has also previously declined a request to hold a "family-friendly" drag show at the Capitol.
Previously, UOJ reported that the Russian government had banned Satanism.
