Satanic Temple leader challenges 'pathetic little coward' DeSantis to debate over group's tax-exempt status

The co-founder of the Satanic Temple ripped GOP presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., for claiming that it was former President Trump’s fault that the group got tax-exempt status.

During a recent episode of CNN NewsNight, the religious group’s co-founder Lucien Greaves shot back at DeSantis, claiming Trump had nothing to do with the group’s legitimacy.

He also challenged the governor to a one-on-one debate on the subject before calling him a coward for how he has talked about the group in recent days. 

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Greaves’ religious group has been in the news recently as it was allowed to place a statue of a ram draped in red clothing on what looked like an altar as a public display in the Iowa State Capitol. 

The statue created much controversy among locals, many of whom were shocked that a statue of Satan would be showcased in such a way. Greaves defended the move, telling local outlets it represents his group’s right to religious freedom. 

Some criticized Gov. Kim Reynolds, R-Iowa, for not stopping the placement of the statue. Though she claimed she found it "objectionable," she defended the Satanic Temple’s statue as "free speech."

Ultimately, an outraged Christian man named Michael Cassidy destroyed the statue while visiting the state capitol on Thursday. He was charged with 4th-degree criminal mischief.

During a recent CNN Town Hall in Iowa, Desantis – who was endorsed for president by Reynolds – put the blame for the display on Trump, telling anchor Jake Tapper, "I heard this and then I was like, well, how did it get there? Is that even a religion? And lo and behold, the Trump administration gave them approval to be under the IRS as a religion. So that gave them the legal ability to potentially do it."

Greaves trashed this assessment when speaking to CNN’s Abby Phillip, Thursday, telling her that no politician or group gave the temple the right it has as a religious group in America.

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"We have a system in place where we have a system of checks and balances and we have static institutions like the IRS that work under a certain set of rules, and they’re supposed to act neutrally in regard to viewpoint and just follow rote practices in which, if we fall within the parameters of the law, our rights will be respected the same as anybody else’s."

"We don’t want to yield some kind of power to the government to begin picking and choosing between religious groups," he added.

Elsewhere, he said, "Our IRS tax-exempt application certainly never came across Trump’s desk. Trump wouldn’t have comprehended it if he had seen it, and I think DeSantis knows that. It’s just another display of cowardice from a politician who wants to play ignorant."

Greaves hammered DeSantis further, challenging him to the debate. He said, "I think he knows better. I would be happy to debate him at any point, but I do think he is being a pathetic little coward when he calls us – when he tries to use us as a ploy to appeal to a mob of people who just don’t understand what somebody like him very well should understand and should convey to the public instead of riling up fears and animosity between different people."

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When asked to comment on Greaves' statements, DeSantis Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern directed Fox News Digital to a recent X post of his in which he said, "I’ll break this down for you really, really slow: The IRS is in the Department of the Treasury. The Department of the Treasury is part of the executive branch, which reports to the president. In 2019, when the Satanic Temple was given tax-exempt status, Trump was president."