A Michigan man has pleaded guilty to driving to Salem, Massachusetts, with the intent to blow up the international headquarters of the Satanic Temple.
Luke Terpstra, 30, traveled to Salem with bombs and firearms in September 2023 “because he wanted to destroy the Satanic Temple by setting it on fire,” according to the plea agreement.
Terpstra pleaded guilty this week to possession of an unregistered destructive device and faces a maximum of ten years in prison. He is also liable for approximately $250,000 that the Satanic Temple claims it cost them for security upgrades and other actions the organization took in response to the threat.
“The City of Salem and the Salem Police Department recognize that it is frightening and concerning that there are individuals who would threaten or carry out violent attacks against others based on their beliefs and that we are a target,” the city said in a statement posted to its website at the time of Terpstra’s arrest.
“On the one hand, it is gratifying that our federal and local partners were able to thwart Terpstra. On the other, it is terrifying that he walked in our midst planning such violence.”
According to the Satanic Temple’s website, the headquarters on Bridge Street opened to the public in the former Dubiel Funeral Parlor in 2016.
The building contains an “art gallery and a permanent exhibit dedicated to witch-hunts, Satanism, and moral panics. The Satanic Temple of Salem often hosts and performs formal ceremonial events, lectures, screenings, and meetings.”
It also has a gift shop and is home to the organization’s infamous Baphomet statue.
Terpstra’s sentencing has been scheduled for late July.
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