A controversial satanic holiday display outside Florida's capital was barely up for more than a day when it was vandalized, The Tallahassee Democrat reported.
On Tuesday, 54-year-old Susan Hemeryck was in the middle of ripping apart the Satanic Temple's holiday display inside the Tallahassee building when officers stopped her, police said.
"Happy Holidays from the Satanic Temple," reads the display featuring an angel falling into a pit of fire.
Hemeryck allegedly told two police officers she was "sorry and had to take down the Satanic display" because it was "not right," the newspaper reported. When the officers told her doing so is illegal, she said she "could not take it anymore,"
Hemeryck was arrested and charged with criminal mischief. She was released Tuesday on her own recognizance.
The Satanic Temple, which does not actually worship Satan, has snagged headlines in recent months for repeated attempts to erect displays outside government buildings in several states. The organization's goal is to make sure state governments do not promote one religion, such as having a Christian nativity scene for Christmas, while discriminating against others.
"This act of mindless vandalism should be condemned by all decent people and all those who support true freedom of religion," said the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which threatened to sue on behalf of the Temple if its display did not go up this year. "It's important to remember that free speech in an open forum is for all groups, even those whose message some deem controversial or unpopular."
The Satanic Temple's activism has prompted others to erect odd holiday displays.
Political activist Chaz Stevens put up a six-foot "Festivus" pole last week, made from cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, the New York Daily News reported. The display name comes from a fake holiday from the comedy "Seinfeld."
"I thought one ridiculous idea deserves another," Stevens told the Daily News of the pole, which was erected next to the nativity scene inside the capitol.
"While I thought a manger was ridiculous I needed something (to match it) so I got Festivus."
