A leader of a Satanist group and three others were arrested Friday after a fight broke out inside the Kansas Statehouse after the leader allegedly tried to hold a Black Mass in the rotunda.
Michael Stewart, head of the Kansas City-area Satanic Grotto, was arrested after video showed him punching a counter-protester who tried to take his script.
Kansas Highway Patrol officers tackled and handcuffed him as he yelled, “Hail, Satan!”
He was later released on $1,000 bond for disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly.
Stewart’s nonprofit group describes itself as an “independent and nondenominational Satanic church.”
According to Stewart, the event initially drew little attention until allegations surfaced that he stole consecrated bread from a local Catholic Church for use in the Black Mass.
Stewart and about 30 of his group’s members gathered outside the statehouse to protest what they called favoritism toward Christians.
Hundreds of Christian counter-protesters sang hymns and urged them to “accept Jesus.”
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly temporarily banned protests inside for the day after Catholic groups pressured her to stop the Black Mass.
Catholic leaders called the event “a despicable act of anti-Catholic bigotry.”
Kelly issued her order March 12, which applied to Stewart and his followers.
“There are more constructive ways to protest and express disagreements without insulting or denigrating sacred religious symbols,” Kelly said in an announcement about the event.
Pastor Jeremiah Hicks of The Cure Church in Kansas City, Kansas, warned against allowing the event.
“The Bible says Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy, so when we dedicate a state to Satan, we’re dedicating it to death,” he declared.
Satanic Grotto followers argued the event was about free speech. Stewart’s wife, Maenad Bee, told reporters, “He’s only exercising his First Amendment rights.”
Two other followers of Stewart, Jocelyn Frazee, 32, and Sean Anderson, 50, were also arrested for unlawful assembly.
Frazee had no bond set, and Anderson’s bond information was unavailable at the time of publication.
Marcus Schroeder, 21, a Christian counter-protester who tried to take Stewart’s script, was also arrested for disorderly conduct.
His bond was set at $1,000.
Karla Delgado, who attended with her three young children, admitted she tried to stop Stewart’s Satanic ceremony.
“When we saw nobody stopping him, we tried to do it,” she said.
In the chaos, her 4-year-old daughter was knocked down.
Stewart said his group scheduled the event thinking lawmakers would be in session. He hinted they may return.
“Maybe ‘un-baptisms,’ right here in the Capitol,” he said.
The Satanic Grotto did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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