Someone dropped an explosive on the porch of a Satanic Temple in Massachusetts when no one was there, and the bomb and the resulting damage weren’t discovered until nearly 12 hours later, police said. No injuries were reported.
Police said in a news release Monday that state police bomb disposal technicians determined the device was no longer dangerous. Police dogs swept the scene for other devices, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also assisted. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force said in a statement that it was assisting police with the investigation, but had no further comment.
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Police said the device was thrown onto the porch around 4:14 a.m. Monday and wasn’t discovered until staff arrived around 4 p.m.
FILE – A figure stands on the porch of the Satanic Temple’s international headquarters in Salem, Massachusetts, on October 24, 2016. Someone dropped an explosive on the porch of the Satanic Temple in Massachusetts when no one was there. Police said the device and the damage it caused were not discovered until nearly 12 hours later. No injuries were reported. Police said in a news release Monday, April 8, 2024, that state police bomb disposal technicians have determined the device is no longer dangerous. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
Police have not released details of the damage.
Police have previously responded to the temple regarding bomb threats and hate crimes. In 2022, a man was accused of setting fire to a building and pleaded not guilty to charges of arson, destruction of a place of worship, and civil rights violations.
In January, a man was charged with a hate crime for vandalizing a pagan idol at the Iowa State Capitol. It was brought in by the Iowa Satanic Temple under state regulations that allow religious displays in buildings during the holidays.
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Founded in 2013 and based in Salem, Massachusetts, the Satanic Temple describes itself as a “non-theistic religious organization” that advocates secularism, although it says it does not believe in Satan. It is separate from the Church of Satan, which was founded in the 1960s.
