On Friday, a man who was apparently off his meds crashed his car into the statue of the Ten Commandments at the Oklahoma State Capitol. Then he urinated on the monument, walked to the Federal Building, and made some threats against the President and Federal government. Why would he do that? Well, he used the old “Satan made me do it” excuse, and is currently being evaluated for his mental health. What’s this have to do with metal, other than our dark overlord? Well, if you’ll remember, back in May, we wrote about the Satanic Temple’s plans to erect a baphomet with two children gazing up at him with a pentagram next to him. The Satanic Temple includes Vital Remains’ Brian Werner. At any point, with the Ten Commandments statue out of the picture (at least temporarily), the Temple has decided to place their plans on hold, stating that they’re “appalled” to hear about it and they wouldn’t want their statue standing alone. Here’s a statement they released:

“The Satanic Temple was appalled to learn of the act of destructive vandalism laid upon the 10 Commandments monument in Oklahoma today. As many are aware, we are seeking to have a Satanic monument erected alongside the 10 Commandments — and only alongside the 10 Commandments. We do not want our monument to stand alone. If our monument stands at the state Capitol, we want it to compliment and contrast the 10 Commandments, with both standing unmolested as a testament to American religious freedom and tolerance. We hope that by respecting religious liberty in allowing our monument to be displayed, Oklahoma will help ameliorate any animosity between differing perspectives, not cultivate them.”

“To be clear, “The Satanic Temple will not seek to erect its monument unless the 10 Commandments is restored.” Oklahoma City has the option to wait until the ACLU’s case regarding the legal status of the 10 Commandments is resolved before it permits its replacement. However, if the 10 Commandments is immediately reconstructed, our monument will be ready for unveiling quite soon.”

See, Satanists are people too. And to see them condemn the acts of a lawless person, even if he says he did it in the name of their leader, shows that they’re calm and rational.