The leader of the Satanic Grotto was led away in handcuffs at the Kansas Statehouse Friday morning after he scuffled with a protester who objected to his “black mass” ceremony there.
Michael Stewart, president of the Satanic Grotto, was tackled to the ground by police officers in the rotunda of the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka as he attempted to hold the “black mass” ceremony.
🚨BREAKING: The leader of the Satanic Grotto gets arrested at Kansas State Capitol for assaulting a Catholic during a "Black Mass" attempt. pic.twitter.com/oo55sxO0SN
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) March 28, 2025
Just before his arrest, Stewart appeared to repeatedly punch a protester who came up to him and tried to grab something out of his hand that he was holding above his head as he called out to Satan.
Advertisement
He told officers he was not resisting arrest as he was handcuffed.
“Hail Satan! I dedicate this building to Satan!” Stewart could be heard shouting as he was led away.
Onlookers could be heard praying a “Hail Mary” as Stewart was led away.
Advertisement
The Satanic Grotto previously said Friday’s “black mass” event would “dedicate the grounds and our legislature to the glory of Satan.”
“God will fall and Kansas will be embraced by the black flame of Lucifer,” the group said.
“I will be performing that black mass in our State Capitol,” Satanic Grotto President Michael Stewart previously told The Daily Wire. “If they have to arrest me, then they have to arrest me.”
Advertisement
A “black mass” is an explicit parody of the Catholic Mass that may use consecrated hosts, which Catholics believe to be the physical body, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ.
“We have wafers,” Stewart said previously. “I don’t want to comment on whether they’re consecrated or not because that would ruin the mystery.”
Alarmed critics warned the controversial event is wildly offensive to Catholics and could be disruptive.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly had warned the Satanic Grotto president to move his event outside, saying “no protests will be allowed inside the Statehouse” on that day.
As Stewart entered the statehouse building, an officer told him he was welcome to be inside, but that he would be arrested if he tried to hold an event or cause a disruption.
Earlier in the morning, police also apprehended a man who tackled Stewart and grabbed a communion wafer from him as he held the “black mass” on the steps of the Capitol building. Later, Stewart ventured inside.
The hundreds of Catholic and Christian protesters who showed up Friday morning to rally outside the Kansas Statehouse far outnumbered the few dozen Satanists who held their own rally. Many officers with the Kansas Highway Patrol and Capitol Police were present as well.
Catholics also held masses at two nearby churches, one across the street and another a few blocks away.
It is not yet clear what, if any, charges Stewart will face.
The Satanic Grotto president has previously shown up outside Planned Parenthood and performed lewd gestures to pro-life protesters outside.
