Local and federal investigators are looking into a possible bombing at a Satanic Temple in the Massachusetts town of Salem.
Police reported that an unknown person tossed an explosive at the porch of the building at around 4.15am Monday.
It was nearly 12 hours before someone finally discovered the damage, as no one was in the building at the time.
Lucien Greaves, the co-founder and spokesperson for the temple, claims that this was an act of terror.
‘It can’t be overstated that this was definitely a horrific act of attempted terrorism and people could be hurt,’ he said.
Local and federal investigators are looking into a possible bombing at a Satanic Temple in the Massachusetts town of Salem
‘We have confidence that they will soon locate the perpetrator,’ he told WHDH.
In an interview with the Boston Globe, he claimed to have actually given a tour of the building to a couple before the explosive was discovered.
‘We came in through the back and did the whole tour, and all the while, on the front deck, I guess, was this bomb,’ Greaves said.
Bomb technicians for the state and K9s swept the building to make sure the bomb was no longer capable of doing damage and that there were no other explosives on the premises, according to CBS Boston.
The authorities declared the investigation complete at around 7.15pm, saying the threat had been contained.
The temple has faced multiple threats in the past two years, including a Michigan man arrested in January for a planned attack and an alleged arson incident in 2022.
The Satanic Temple opened in the notoriously spooky town in 2016, pledging itself to ‘fight a perceived intrusion of Christian values on American politics’ more ardently than worshipping Satan.
It is not associated with the 1960s Church of Satan founded by Anton LeVay.
It’s mission, their website claims, is: ‘To encourage benevolence and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice and undertake noble pursuits.’
Police reported that an unknown person tossed an explosive at the porch of the building at around 4.15am Monday. It was nearly 12 hours before someone finally discovered the damage done, as no one was in the building at the time
Local and federal investigators are looking into a possible bombing at a Satanic Temple in the Massachusetts town of Salem
Lucien Greaves, the co-founder and spokesperson for the temple, claims that this was an act of terror
‘We find a real power in the mythology of Satan, but from a…perspective in which Satan is the ultimate rebel against tyranny,’ Greaves said Monday.
An LGBTQ+ pride flag is prominently displayed on the same front porch that the explosive was thrown toward.
The new headquarters are housed in a Victorian-style home less than a mile away from Gallows Hill, the site where villagers executed over a dozen people suspected of witchcraft.
‘The history of Salem is also part of the history of Satanism,’ the organization’s spokesperson, Greaves told DailyMail.com at the time of its opening.
In 2019, Satanic Temple was given section 501(c) tax exempt status, which put it in the same bracket as major religions such as Catholicism and organizations such as the Salvation Army.
The recognition means the temple, which has 16 chapters in the U.S. and thousands of followers around the world, can apply for certain federal grants.
Anyone who donates money to the group can also write it off as a tax deduction.