'The devil is real': Ex-candidate rallies young GOPers after beheading Satanic statue

A former Republican candidate who has admitted to beheading a Satanic Temple statue recalled why he acted at a rally with young Republicans.

At Turning Point Action's America Fest conference on Tuesday, a crowd cheered as former Mississippi candidate Michael Cassidy took the stage.

Cassidy previously admitted to Fox News that he beheaded the Baphomet statue at the Iowa State Capitol.

"Tore it off. Pulled it apart. Put him in a garbage bag," he explained.

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"It was an abomination," Cassidy insisted at the conference sponsored by TPUSA Action, a group that indoctrinates conservative youth. "I was surprised. There's almost nobody, there's one man in there.

"I would have thought that there would have been, you know, a politician to yell at, to say, hey man, take this down, a security guard or something, but there is nobody there, it was just that evil statue that was there to influence families, to influence children," he reflected.

Cassidy said he had received messages from parents disappointed by his actions.

"The Satanists, they may think it's a game, they may think it's just a big joke to, you know, trigger us, but the devil's real, and we have to be wary of him," he remarked.

Watch the video below from Turning Point USA Action.

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