Dozens of Christian protesters gathered in Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday to denounce the unveiling of a bronze nine-foot, one-ton goat-headed statue of Satan called the Baphomet monument.
The statue was presented by the Satanic Temple, an organisation "dedicated to Satanic practice and the promotion of Satanic rights," at an undisclosed location in the city as a security measure. The Satanic Temple kept the site of the unveiling of the huge statue secret, e-mailing the information only to members of the group and others who were previously given tickets to witness the occasion, according to Raw Story.
The organisation was forced to hold the event in secrecy after receiving threats that protesters would allegedly blow up or burn down the monument.
Still, the city's Christian residents found out about it and came out in droves to condemn the act.
"This unveiling will not happen in the City of Detroit on my watch," Bishop Corletta Vaughn of the Holy Ghost Cathedral in Detroit told the Free Press. "I'm here to stand against this being in the City of Detroit. We will not turn over our city to Satanists. It's a violent spirit that's moving to the city and infiltrating that place. We will drive them out of Dodge."
"The last thing we need in Detroit is having a welcome home party for evil," said Rev. Dave Bullock, a pastor at Greater St. Matthew Baptist Church in Highland Park, Michigan.
"Satan has no place in this city, or any other city," said James Bluford, said another protester.
Martin C. Tutwiler, another protester, said the Satanic Temple sought Detroit as the city where it could erect the statue because "they think we're down as a city."
Photos taken by the Free Press showed protesters wearing T-shirts with the caption saying "Jesus."
Hundreds attended the unveiling of the statue.
"Never before seen in public, The Satanic Temple Baphomet monument is already the most controversial and politically charged contemporary work of art in the world," the Satanic Temple wrote its website.
"Protesters arrived for a short time at our first ticketing location, but retreated after only about 30 minutes," Director of the Detroit Satanic Temple chapter and national spokeswoman Jex Blackmore told Fox News.
Blackmore added, "One woman attempted to block the event entrance and was removed by the police in cooperation with the building's owner."
The group said it wants to display the statue at the Arkansas State Capitol beside the Ten Commandments monument.
It is also seeking to have the statue placed next to the Ten Commandments monument in Oklahoma, which was ordered removed by the state Supreme Court earlier this month.
The Satanic Temple said it raised $28,000 and hired an artist to construct its "monument of a Baphomet figure sitting cross-legged on a stone slab, flanked by two adoring children."
"The statue will also have a functional purpose as a chair where people of all ages may sit on the lap of Lucifer. All that would be required would be for Oklahoma City to accept The Satanic Temple's donation of the Baphomet statue," it said.
It sent a letter to Oklahoma's Capitol Preservation Commission in December 2013 to donate a monument that will "complement" the Ten Commandments monument.
The commission asked for their design and the Satanic Temple said it never heard from the commission again.
