A Veterans Memorial Park in Minnesota will soon sport a controversial addition in the form of a Satanic monument!
The small town of Belle Plaine has agreed to allow a group of Satanists to place the monument in the park as part of a 'free speech zone.'
Since the area already features a soldier praying over a cross, the Satanic Temple of Salem, Massachusetts seized on the opportunity to express their religious views via a monument of their making.
Facing the threat of a lawsuit if they did not permit the monument to be added to the park, town officials ultimately acquiesced to the request, much to the chagrin of some residents who plan to protest the decision.
Remarkably, the ominous-looking black cube which features the overturned helmet of a soldier will actually make history when it is installed as it will become the first Satanic monument ever placed on public property in the United States.
While the monument is understandably off-putting to some members of the community, the alternative suggested by one city councilman is somewhat unnerving as well.
"We were warned against creating this free speech zone," Cary Coop told TV station WCCO, "and it will be probably be just as well that we didn't have one."
Arguing that people are free to express their views on private property, Coop conceded that the law allows the Satanists to use the designated area, for now, because "it's free speech."
Although the town could opt to remove the 'free speech zone' altogether and, thus free themselves from having to host the Satanic monument, one wonders what kind of message such a move would send.
For their part, the Satanists behind the monument insist that their religion is simply misunderstood by people who associate it will evil and the occult.
Coast Insiders can learn more about the Satanic religion by checking out the 9/2/2015 edition of the program featuring Reverend Robert Fraize of the Traditional Church of Satan.
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Source: WCCO