Official Invokes 'Hail Satan' at Alaska Government Meeting, Prompting Walkout
Satanic Temple member causes walkout at Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly
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An official invoked "Hail Satan" during an Alaska government meeting, prompting a walkout from attendees.
Satanic Temple member Iris Fontana caused several government officials and attendees to walk out of the meeting south of Anchorage this week by ending the opening prayer with “Hail Satan.”
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly’s previous policy stated that those delivering the invocation must be a member of a recognized church.
The rules were changed last October, however, when Alaska's Supreme Court decided in favor of the ACLU that the policy was unconstitutional, according to Alaskan Public Media.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly established the policy in 2016, but the policy has since been changed to read:
"Any invocation that may be offered at the beginning of the assembly meeting shall be a voluntary offering of a private person, to and for the benefit of the assembly.
"No member of the community is required to attend or participate in the invocation."
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According to Fox News, Satanist Fontana was one of the plaintiffs in the case.
An atheist and a Jewish woman were also involved in the lawsuit.
“Let’s cast aside our differences, to use reason, logic, science, and compassion to create solutions for the greater good of our community,” Fontana said at the end of the invocation.
“It is done.
"Hail Satan.
"Thank you.”
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The invocation also prompted an anti-Satan protest outside the building, Alaskan Public Media reported.
“God will be pleased with our public prayers of reparation,” a man who flew from Pennsylvania for the event told KSRM radio.
“We want God’s blessings on America, not Satan’s curses.
"Lucifer is the eternal loser.
"Let’s keep him out.”
