American Humanist Association Approves Satanist Intervention in its Arkansas Monument Fight

Contact:

Sarah Henry, (202) 238-9088, shenry@americanhumanist.com

Monica Miller, (202) 238-9088, mmiller@americanhumanist.com

(Washington, D.C., August 21, 2018) – Today, the Satanic Temple filed a reply in support of its motion to intervene in the American Humanist Association’s ongoing lawsuit challenging the Ten Commandments monument on Arkansas state capitol grounds.

In May 2018, the American Humanist Association (AHA), together with other secular civil rights groups and local citizens, filed suit in Arkansas federal court, seeking to remove this religious monument from public grounds at the state capitol. Late last week, the Satanic Temple protested the unconstitutional religious monument with a temporary installation of the occult deity Baphomet. After garnering approval from the AHA and the other plaintiffs in the case, the Satanic Temple filed a motion to intervene in the case as a third-party plaintiff. The plaintiffs continue to support the involvement of the Satanic Temple, as evidenced by a filed notice to the court. Today’s filing highlights ad hominem attacks made by the state in opposing the Satanic Temple’s involvement.

“The state’s Ten Commandments monument flouts the religious neutrality mandate at the heart of the First Amendment,” said Monica Miller, AHA Senior Counsel and counsel on the case. “The state completely failed to demonstrate any legitimate basis to deny the Satanic Temple’s motion,” she added.