Satanic Temple Chooses Detroit To Unveil Statue Aimed At Oklahoma or Arkansas Statehouse Lawns

The Detroit News reports that The Satanic Temple has chosen Detroit as the site to unveil its 9-foot tall bronze statute of the goat headed Baphomet-- a statue that it hopes to place next to an existing Ten Commandments monument on the Oklahoma state capitol grounds in Oklahoma City, or next to one on the Arkansas state capitol grounds in Little Rock.  The original plans for the Oklahoma location have become less certain after the Oklahoma Supreme Court earlier this month ruled that the Ten Commandments monument must be removed. (See prior posting.)  According to an interview with a Satanic Temple leader published in Wednesday's Detroit Metro Times, Detroit was chosen for the unveiling of the $100,000 sculpture because the city has a strong local chapter and is the location of The Satanic Temple's first chapter house.

Plans for the unveiling, however, have faced difficulties. The owner of the space in Detroit's Eastern Market district where the unveiling was originally planned backed out after a campaign against the statute by the pastor of Detroit's St. Matthew Baptist Church. Salon Magazine discusses at length the threats to destroy the statue posted on Facebook. So now the unveiling is scheduled for tomorrow at a location that will be revealed only to ticket holders through e-mail on the day of the event. The Satanic Temple's website-- though which tickets may be purchased-- extends an invitation reading in part:

The Satanic Temple invites you to join us for a night of chaos, noise, and debauchery at The Unveiling, a hedonistic celebration introducing the controversial Baphomet monument accompanied by provocative performances and installations.

Never before seen in public, The Satanic Temple Baphomet monument is already the most controversial and politically charged contemporary work of art in the world.... The event will serve as a call-to-arms from which we’ll kick off our largest fight to date in the name of individual rights to free exercise against self-serving theocrats.