Local and federal investigators are investigating a possible bombing at a Satanic temple in the Massachusetts town of Salem.
Police reported that an unknown person threw an explosive on the porch of the building around 4:15 a.m. Monday.
It took almost 12 hours before someone finally discovered the damage, as no one was in the building at the time.
Lucien Greaves, co-founder and spokesman for the temple, says it was an act of terror.
“It can’t be overstated that this was definitely a horrible act of attempted terrorism and that people could get hurt,” he said.
Local and federal investigators investigate a possible bomb attack at a satanic temple in the town of Salem, Massachusetts
“We are confident that the perpetrator will be located soon,” he said. WHDH.
In an interview with Boston GlobeHe claimed to have given a couple a tour of the building before the explosive was discovered.
“We came in the back and went all the way, and the whole time, on the front deck, I guess, there was this bomb,” Greaves said.
State bomb technicians and K9s swept the building to ensure the bomb was no longer capable of causing damage and that there were no other explosives on the premises, according to CBS Boston.
Authorities declared the investigation completed around 7:15 p.m. and said the threat had been contained.
The temple has faced multiple threats in the last two years, including Michigan man arrested in January for a planned attack and an alleged arson incident in 2022.
The Satanic Temple opened in this notoriously spooky city in 2016, pledging to “fight an alleged intrusion of Christian values into American politics” with more fervor than worshiping Satan.
It is not associated with the 1960s Church of Satan founded by Anton LeVay.
It’s mission, their website statesis: “Encourage benevolence and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, uphold practical common sense, oppose injustice, and undertake noble pursuits.”
Police reported that an unknown person threw an explosive on the porch of the building around 4:15 a.m. Monday. It took almost 12 hours before someone finally discovered the damage caused, as no one was in the building at the time.
Local and federal investigators investigate a possible bomb attack at a satanic temple in the town of Salem, Massachusetts
Lucien Greaves, co-founder and spokesman for the temple, says it was an act of terror.
“We find real power in the mythology of Satan, but from a… perspective where Satan is the ultimate rebel against tyranny,” Greaves said Monday.
An LGBTQ+ pride flag is prominently displayed on the same porch where the explosive was thrown.
The new headquarters is located in a Victorian-style house less than a mile away from Gallows Hill, the site where villagers executed more than a dozen people suspected of witchcraft.
“The story of Salem is also part of the story of Satanism,” Greaves, a spokesperson for the organization, told DailyMail.com at the time of its opening.
In 2019, the Satanic Temple received section 501(c) tax-exempt status, putting it in the same group as major religions like Catholicism and organizations like 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 deduct it from their taxes.