Satanic Temple asks Boston to fly flag after court ruling
The Satanic Temple is requesting to fly a flag over Boston City Hall after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the city violated the free speech rights of a conservative activist seeking to fly a Christian flag outside the downtown building
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Satanic Temple is requesting to fly a flag over Boston City Hall after the U.S. Supreme Court this week ruled the city violated the free speech rights of a conservative activist seeking to fly a Christian flag outside the downtown building.
The Salem-based group on Tuesday tweeted a copy of its request to raise a flag to mark Satanic Appreciation Week from July 23-29.
The application filed online with the city’s property management department doesn’t provide any details about what the flag would look like or what the weeklong celebration entails.
Spokespersons for the Satanic Temple didn’t respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday. The group has lodged freedom of religion challenges nationwide, including a recent federal lawsuit arguing the Boston City Council’s traditional opening prayer at its public meetings is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
Mayor Michelle Wu’s office declined to comment on the group’s request other than to say it’s reviewing the high court’s decision while also evaluating its flag-raising program.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that Boston discriminated against activist Harold Shurtleff because of his “religious viewpoint,” even though it had routinely approved other flag raising requests.
In 2017, Shurtleff and his Camp Constitution wanted to fly a white banner with a red cross on a blue background called the Christian flag to mark Constitution Day on Sept. 17.