The Satanic Temple display outside the New Hampshire State House has been vandalized for the second time since it was erected next to a Christian Nativity scene this month.
The Concord Police Department is investigating the situation after witnesses said an unidentified person smashed the statue depicting the pagan deity, Baphomet, on Tuesday night, WMUR reported.
The display had only been up since Monday after the original one was toppled shortly after it was put up in early December, Breitbart News reported.
Photos shared on December 10 show the Baphomet’s head and torso damaged on the ground while its legs remain upright:
The statue was mostly “pieced back together” within a few hours, though still damaged, according to WMUR.
“The fact that a manger is a-OK, but a tiny little statue of Baphomet that’s 1/20th the size isn’t? Not kosher,” Satanic Temple member Brandon Noel told the outlet.
“To know that there’s people around here who aren’t willing to allow people such as myself to express my religious views and the religious views of countless others who want to be able to celebrate and believe in what they believe in,” fellow Satanist Bear Saxby added.
The Salem, Massachusetts-based Satanic Temple received a permit to place their monument after state Rep. Ellen Read (D) encouraged them to join the scene to represent our “pluralistic society,” Boston.com reported.
“I’ve just been a long time supporter of TST in terms of their beliefs and the work that they do,” Read said. “I’m local, so I helped with the permitting process, and I was there for the unveiling.”
She also claimed there was “nothing inherently offensive” about the Satanic display placed near a Christmas display.
“There were accusations that it meant to denigrate Christians, but there was nothing about it that was denigrating Christians,” the lawmaker said. “If you don’t want to allow it for all religions, then you don’t have to allow religious displays.”