Get you up to speed: Hell breaks loose at council after Satanic prayer read | News World
A city council meeting in Ottumwa, Iowa, escalated into chaos when former councillor Matt Dalbey recited a Satanic prayer from the podium, declaring, “Hail Satan.” The incident prompted immediate outrage from attendees, with Pastor Rick Bick demanding the council “reverse this curse that was put on our city.”
The Ottumwa City Council’s policy approved in January allows for prayers or statements from any faith or philosophy to open meetings, a decision that has now raised concerns among council members. Council member Cara Galloway, the only councillor to vote against the policy, expressed that it could invite further controversial invocations, reflecting the broader implications of including diverse beliefs in municipal gatherings.
Mayor Benjamin Foote called for 30 seconds of silence following the prayer, prompting council member Cara Galloway to voice her concerns about a January policy allowing diverse invocations at meetings. Galloway, who opposed the policy, warned that it could lead to similar controversies and stated, “we need to remember that we are up here to be neutral.”
What remains unclear — It is unclear what actions the city council will take in response to the controversy surrounding prayer policies.
City council meeting in Iowa disrupted following Satanic prayer delivery
A US city council meeting descended into chaos after an attendee delivered a Satanic prayer from the podium.
Matt Dalbey, a former member of Ottumwa City Council in Iowa, opened up the meeting by addressing the ‘dark father’ and declaring: ‘Hail Satan.’
He then went on to call for people to embrace the ‘Luciferian impulse’ and said individuals should be judged on their actions rather than social conventions.
The unusual speech prompted outrage from the people in the room, who looked stunned as they turned towards the American flag and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
Pastor Rick Bick from the New Life Center instantly headed for the podum after Dalbey’s address and demanded that the council ‘reverse this curse that was put on our city’.
‘That “Hail Satan” is not welcome here,’ Bick said. ‘It needs to be done now… that was a curse put on the city. Most of you know that, and we need to just stop and reverse it.’
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Former councillor Matt Dalbey read a satanic prayer at the start of the Ottumwa City Council meeting in Iowa (Picture: Ottumwa City Council)
Mayor Benjamin Foote then called for 30 seconds of silence ‘to reflect on whatever it is we need to reflect on at this time’.
The meeting eventually continued, but council member Cara Galloway then raised concerns concerns about a policy approved in January which allows prayers or statements from any faith or philosophy to be used to open meetings.
Galloway, who was the only councillor to vote against the policy, said she had warned that it could lead to exactly the sort of controversy that unfolded.
‘I think we’ve opened ourselves up for others to object or respond to others’ invocations, and we need to remember that we are up here to be neutral,’ she said.
‘I think I specifically referenced that having someone from the church of Satan or a prayer about Satan when we talked about that, that this could happen and we would need to allow it.’
Dalbey later defended his decision, saying he is a member of the Satanic Temple of Iowa, which describes itself as non-theistic and does not worship a literal Satan or Lucifer.
Instead, it promotes ideas including individual freedom, personal autonomy and challenging arbitrary authority.
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