Detroit, US (BBN)-Hundreds of people lined up to see the unveiling of a near 9ft bronze Satanic statue at an undisclosed location in Detroit over the weekend.
Ticket holders were told the location of the unveiling by email on Saturday night after protests by local religious groups caused Bert’s Warehouse to back out of hosting the event, reports the Sky News.
After arriving at the ceremony, guests were entertained by “dark punk” bands and DJs from a stage underneath an upside-down crucifix and red lighting covered everything, Fox News reported.
Jex Blackmore, director of the Detroit Satanic Temple, said: “Protesters arrived for a short time at our first ticketing location, but retreated after only about 30 minutes.
“One woman attempted to block the event entrance and was removed by the police in co-operation with the building’s owner.”
He added that the temple had originally applied for the statue, called Baphomet, to be placed on the Oklahoma State Capitol grounds after a Ten Commandments monument was installed in 2012.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court recently ruled that the monument violates state constitution which bans the use of state property for the benefit of religion.
The Detroit event also saw several hundred people attend a Mass at a Catholic church to protest against the statue.
On its website, the Satanic Temple claims it is not a religious group, but believes “in the pursuit of knowledge and freedom of will”.
The group now hopes to display the statue at the Arkansas State Capitol, next to another planned monument of the Ten Commandments.
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