A federal judge has ordered Iowa officials to let The Satanic Temple Iowa hold its holiday event inside the state Capitol rotunda next month, ruling that the group is likely to win its free-speech claim against the state. The event, which includes caroling, ornament-making and a Krampus costume contest, is scheduled for Dec. 12.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose issued the preliminary injunction, finding the group is likely to prevail on its free speech claim, according to CBS2 Iowa. The order requires Iowa Department of Administrative Services Director Mark Campbell to approve the application and sign the event agreement within seven days, the station reports. The Des Moines Register first reported the ruling Monday.
The ruling clears the way for The Satanic Temple Iowa to return to the Capitol building it last used for a public event in December 2023, when the group held a holiday display in the rotunda alongside other seasonal exhibits, according to the ACLU of Iowa, which is representing the group. That 2023 display was vandalized, and the organization says charges were brought by local law enforcement against the person responsible.
What's Planned for Dec. 12
The upcoming event is set to include singing carols, coloring pages, make-and-take ornaments, and a Krampus costume contest, per the ACLU of Iowa's description of the application. CBS2 Iowa reports the gathering is scheduled to take place in the Capitol Rotunda on Dec. 12. A signed memorandum of understanding lists the event running from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and designates the east section of the first-floor rotunda as the event area, according to the agreement.
Rose's order is preliminary, meaning it governs the case while litigation continues; the same CBS2 Iowa report notes Rose did not rule on the group's other claims in the lawsuit.
A Disputed Timeline of Denials
Accounts differ on exactly what happened to the group's application before the lawsuit. CBS2 Iowa reports that the state denied the group's holiday-event application three years in a row, while the Des Moines Register's August report said Iowa denied requests for 2024 and 2025 but that the Temple indicated officials had not responded to its application for a December 2026 event. The ACLU of Iowa, for its part, says the state repeatedly denied and unduly delayed the group's applications starting in 2024 and continuing through 2026.
A brief filed by the plaintiffs in August said their application for the 2026 holiday season had been pending for 159 days at the time of filing, whereas other groups' applications had been acted on within a few days of submission, according to the plaintiffs' brief. That filing asked the court for an injunction requiring approval of the group's application to hold its event at the Capitol Rotunda on Dec. 12, 2026.
What the Injunction Requires
Per the order described by CBS2 Iowa, Director Campbell has seven days to approve the application and sign the event agreement. The station's report frames the decision as a win on the merits of the free-speech argument, even as the rest of the lawsuit remains pending. Whether the Dec. 12 event ultimately takes place as planned is not addressed in the available reporting.
