Local News
Only the black mannequin’s legs remained straight, while the scattered head and torso were damaged. The entire display was removed on Tuesday.
A holiday display that leaders of the Satanic Temple of New Hampshire and Vermont set up in a town square in Concord, New Hampshire, pictured at left on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, was toppled in an apparent act of vandalism that left the exhibit badly damaged. , as shown on the right on Tuesday, December 10, 2024. (Amanda Gokee/Globe Staff/Ellen Read)
Since the Satanic Temple monument near Concord, New Hampshire, was unveiled Saturday, it has been “completely destroyed,” a state official said.
The Salem, Mass.-based Satanic Temple, or TST, has received a permit to place its monument of Baphomet, a yellow-eyed occult deity and symbol, near the city’s Nativity scene near the Statehouse . The city said in a statement that it approved the permit in part “to avoid litigation.”
TST representatives unveiled Baphomet Saturday evening, and police believe it was vandalized sometime between Sunday morning and Monday afternoon. In photos provided to Boston.com, only the black model’s legs remained straight, while the scattered head and torso were damaged.
A Concord police spokesperson confirmed they responded to the scene on Monday and may be investigating the incident as a hate crime.
State Rep. Ellen Read, a Democrat from Newmarket, initially asked TST to join the stage to represent “our pluralistic society.” She is not officially involved with them or the design of the Baphomet monument, but has registered as a member online.
“I have been a supporter of TST for a long time in terms of his beliefs and the work that he does,” Read said. “I’m local, so I helped with the permitting process and was there for the unveiling.”
Read said the monument had already been toppled once just after the dedication ceremony Saturday. Within 48 hours, the tablet listing the seven fundamental principles of TST had also been hacked and pieces of text were missing.
Read said that as of Monday evening, Baphomet had been taken apart and the tablet broken. She said a Santa hat and Christmas decoration were left at the scene.
The screen was cleaned and removed Tuesday after the vandalism, Read said.
“There was nothing inherently offensive about the display. There were accusations that it was meant to denigrate Christians, but there was nothing in it that denigrated Christians,” Read said. “If you don’t want to allow it for all religions, then you don’t have to allow religious demonstrations.”
Concord Mayor Byron Champlin previously said he would appoint a committee to evaluate the city’s options for regulating unsupervised exposures in the future.
Champlin criticized the display. He did not respond to a request for comment regarding the vandalism, but said during a Monday evening meeting that his preference was to oppose TST’s permit.
“I oppose the permit because I believe the application was not made in the interest of promoting religious equity but in order to promote an anti-religious political agenda and because I do not react well to the permit. “legal extortion and threats of litigation,” Champlin said. .
Read said this is a First Amendment concern.
“They can claim they allow it for all religious manifestations, but it’s only really applicable if it’s Christianity,” Read said. “That’s kind of the point of speaking out against this and making sure that we’re upholding the principles of the First Amendment.”
TST did not return multiple requests for comment.
Boston.com today
Sign up to receive the latest headlines in your inbox every morning.
