HELLERTOWN, Pa.— In what the American Civil Liberties Union is calling a "victory for free speech and religious liberty", the Satanic Temple will collect $200,000 from a school district that previously refused to allow the "After School Satan Club" to meet on school grounds.
According to court documents, the ACLU representing the Satanic Temple, convinced a judge that the group was previously wrongly blocked from holding their After School Satan Club meetings at Saucon Valley Middle School. The ruling includes mention that the school district "likely violated" the First Amendment rights of the group members.
The issue at the core of the Satanic Temple's argument was that they are a religious group just like any other, so they argued they should have the same rights.
TST SVSD Settlement Agreement FINAL Signed by Julian Abraham on Scribd
“Thanks to the court’s order, we were able to hold ASSC meetings at the Saucon Valley Middle School, and the kids who attended were overjoyed. It’s for them that we took on this legal fight in the first place, and we won’t hesitate to do so again if other school districts continue to enact discriminatory policies."June Everett
“We are pleased that this matter has been resolved and that the school district has agreed to stop all discrimination against us,” said June Everett, director of the After School Satan Club. Everett is an ordained member of the Satanic Temple as well.
“Thanks to the court’s order, we were able to hold ASSC meetings at the Saucon Valley Middle School, and the kids who attended were overjoyed. It’s for them that we took on this legal fight in the first place, and we won’t hesitate to do so again if other school districts continue to enact discriminatory policies."
The ACLU picked up this case in the spring of 2023, as they said it fell within their mandate of protecting freedom of expression.
ACLU Responds
Sara Rose, Deputy Legal Director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, is one of the lawyers who represented The Satanic Temple in the courtroom. She said she believes the After School Satan Club is harmless -- though admits the name is probably intended to get a reaction.
"I think they recognize that calling it the After School Satan Club could be controversial, but the point that they're making is that look, if you are going to allow a Christian clubs to meet, and you got to allow all faiths and no faiths be able to meet on the same terms."
"The ACLU is concerned with protecting everyone's free speech rights. If you express your viewpoints in a peaceful nonviolent way, then we think that you are entitled to have the same access to the public square as any other group. And we think that more speech is good for society and as the First Amendment is intended to protect the ability of people to express unpopular and controversial viewpoints. And so that's how we stand up for them."Sara Rose
Rose said the case fell into the ACLU's hands, not because of the message, but the principle.
"The ACLU is concerned with protecting everyone's free speech rights. If you express your viewpoints in a peaceful nonviolent way, then we think that you are entitled to have the same access to the public square as any other group. And we think that more speech is good for society and as the First Amendment is intended to protect the ability of people to express unpopular and controversial viewpoints. And so that's how we stand up for them."
