© 2024 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Satanic Temple Display Trashed In Capitol Rotunda

The display after being damaged.
Nick Evans
The display after being damaged.
The display after being damaged.
Credit Nick Evans
The display after being damaged.

Capitol Police officials have taken a suspect into custody for vandalizing the Satanic Temple’s holiday display in the Capitol Rotunda.  Nick Evans has more.   

Just when it seemed things couldn’t get any weirder, the holiday display saga playing out in the Florida Capitol took a hard left turn.  According to Capitol Police, a woman damaged the Satanic Temple’s display early Tuesday morning, but officials have not her name or any potential religious affiliations.  Satanic Temple member John Porgal says his group plans to press charges, but the display is going to stay as it is.

“That’s why I was asking him about what condition it was in,” Porgal says.  “We’ll put it back in that condition that it was in when she damaged it originally.  As a sign of what the religious right’s idea of tolerance is.”

Porgal says he will request a one-day extension of the display’s time in the Rotunda.  The diorama features a now detached Lucifer falling into the flames of hell, and reads “Happy Holidays from the Satanic Temple”.

Copyright 2020 WFSU. To see more, visit WFSU.

Nick Evans came to Tallahassee to pursue a masters in communications at Florida State University. He graduated in 2014, but not before picking up an internship at WFSU. While he worked on his degree Nick moved from intern, to part-timer, to full-time reporter. Before moving to Tallahassee, Nick lived in and around the San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years. He listens to far too many podcasts and is a die-hard 49ers football fan. When Nick’s not at work he likes to cook, play music and read.
You Count on Us, We Count on You: Donate to WUSF to support free, accessible journalism for yourself and the community.