Satanic Temple Claims VA City Canceled 'Satan Club' Event at Local Library

The Satanic Temple (TST) is accusing Chesapeake, Virginia city officials of canceling a scheduled meeting of the After School Satan Summer Club at a local public library. 

The club meeting had been scheduled for 3:30 pm, Aug. 10 at the Indian River Library.  The TST promoted the meeting on various social media platforms on Aug. 6, announcing children would work on science projects, community service projects, puzzles and games, nature activities, and arts & crafts.

Three days later, the TST posted an update, writing the Aug. 10 club meeting at the library had been canceled by the city. 

"It is with great disappointment that we have to notify the parents/guardians that were planning on their children attending the After School Satan Club (ASSC)  meeting at the Indian River Library tomorrow that the meeting has been canceled by the City of Chesapeake," the TST wrote. 

"We believe this cancellation is unconstitutional and a violation of the rights of our families who planned to attend the meeting and are consulting our attorneys," the organization continued. 

In an email to CBN News, June Everett, campaign director for ASSC, who's also an ordained minister of The Satanic Temple, explained while the organization did not have an official statement since it is still consulting with its attorneys over the matter, she did share the ASSC still met at a local Chesapeake park on Aug. 10.

"Volunteers and families had a wonderful time painting kindness rocks, enjoying the playground, and enjoying snacks," Everett added and included photos of the event. 

CBN News also reached out to the City of Chesapeake for comment. We received the following statement that was sent to all media outlets. 

"The City has adopted uniform policies and user agreements which set forth the requirements, parameters, and expectations necessary to assure that events do not pose a threat to public health, safety or welfare or otherwise disrupt City operations.  Individuals or organizations failing to comply with these policies and/or agreements are subject to having their facility usage canceled by the City."  

Officials didn't say how the club violated those policies but said they sent specific details to the organization, according to WTKR-TV.  

ASSC Still Targeting Public Schools That Have Good News Clubs

As CBN News has reported, After School Satan Clubs have drawn headlines and national attention in recent years, targeting public schools that have already approved Good News Clubs to host meetings during after-school hours. 

In a scattering of communities from California to Virginia, parents have protested the Satan clubs, asking their districts to not approve their applications to meet. That's left school administrators with a difficult decision: accept all clubs no matter the viewpoint or shut down after-school clubs altogether.

Earlier this year, the TST received permission from the Chesapeake School Board to hold its ASSC meeting at the B.M. Primary School to the dismay of several parents, who relayed their concerns to school officials at the December board meeting.

A flyer sent to Chesapeake students and parents said the ASSC sees "Satan as a literary figure who represents a metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny and championing the human mind and spirit." It further claims, "After-School Satan does not attempt to convert children to any religious ideology."

Just a few months earlier, a local church that had a long history of volunteering at the school, had started a Good News Club.

"It really was the next logical step," Pastor Chris Williams of Centerpoint Community Church told CBN News at the time. "We had this group that was already ministering to these families, already had these relationships."

The Missouri-based Child Evangelism Fellowship started in 1937 and operates clubs in the U.S. and around the world. It reached more than 15 million children worldwide in 2021 with more than 55,000 club meetings. In the U.S., thousands of after-school clubs meet and share the Gospel with children.

As CBN News reported, the school district informed the Satan Club in January that it had security concerns and that the club must hire public safety officers for the meetings and hold them at 6:00 p.m. The club held its first meeting at the school in February. 

The ASSC has not hidden its agenda. Organizers say they'll only open a club if religious groups are already meeting on a school's campus.

The Chesapeake School Board will consider voting to ban all external groups from using school facilities for after-school activities at its next meeting on Aug. 14, according to The Virginian-Pilot. 

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