A Satanic Temple Holiday Display Was Vandalized at Florida's State Capitol

This year the "war on Christmas" appears to have shifted away from the millions celebrating the holiday and towards the more off-beat holiday displays of the season, with an attack on new Satanic Temple holiday display in Florida and the dismantling of a zombie nativity scene in Ohio.

In Florida's state capitol building in Tallahassee, police arrested a woman on Tuesday after she vandalized the new Satanic Temple diorama, which boasts a Lucifer doll, the flames of hell, and a holidays greeting from the group. Police have identified the woman as 54-year-old Susan Hemeryck, who said she wearing a Catholic Warrior organization t-shirt at the time.

American Atheists' regional director and Satanic Temple member John Porgal told WFSU radio station that the Satanic Temple will pursue charges.

"That's why I was asking him about what condition it was in," Porgal says. "We'll put it back in that condition that it was in when she damaged it originally. As a sign of what the religious right's idea of tolerance is."

The incident occurred just one day after the Satanic Temple put up the display in the rotunda of the capitol building, appearing to have wrapped up a year-long battle with Florida state officials.

Much to the surprise of those following the ongoing case, in which the group's attempts to erect the display last Christmas were thwarted by the state, the exhibit quietly appeared in the government building on Monday — not far from a picture of the nativity scene put up by a local Christian group.

The Satanic Temple's timing for the display came as the Seinfeld-inspired Festivus holiday pole of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer cans was put away for the year after the December 23 celebration came to an end.

The Satanic Temple, whose members say they do not worship Satan, and which is self-described as a religion, has had a breakthrough year at the state level. In January, a New York-based chapter unveiled plans to build a monument to the Devil at the Oklahoma State courthouse.

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In Lansing, Michigan the group has even created a bit of a rivalry at the capitol building. On Sunday, both the Detroit branch of the Temple and a state senator constructed dueling displays based on the nativity scene. For its part, the Satanic Temple's calls its exhibit a "Snaketivity Scene" equipped with a Satanic cross and a snake. Republican Senator Rick Jones's version tows the traditional line with standard characters like baby Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

Satanic Temple puts up display at Michigan Capitol— WPXI (@WPXI)December 22, 2014

"They could have put theirs up in July or April or sometime. They didn't need to put it up in the Christmas season," Jones told Fox News. "That's OK. We're going to ignore them. I'm not afraid of the snake people. I'm sure that Jesus Christ is not afraid."

This hasn't been the only nativity-fueled controversy this Christmas season. Across state-lines in Ohio, local officials forced a Cincinnati-area man to dismantle the apocalyptic nativity display he'd erected in his front yard, which swapped out the traditional characters for Zombies.

First Amendment violation? Homeowner told to take down zombie Nativity scene:— Fox News (@FoxNews)December 23, 2014

"I wanted a nativity and I worked with what I had," Jasen Dixon told Fox 19. "The neighbors don't like it. My father hates it and anything bad that happens he blames it on that."

The display violated Sycamore Township guidelines on outdoor structures, which dictate the percentage of land a structure can take up, as well as how far it needs to be from the house and street.

According to Dixon, who also runs a local haunted house, the crackdown has more to do with it being "the world's first zombie nativity scene," than it does with the zoning rules.

"It's a holiday decoration. I know if it was a real pretty nativity scene they wouldn't be saying anything," he said.

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Follow Kayla Ruble on Twitter: @RubleKB