A federal appeals court has tossed a lawsuit by Salem-based Satanists over the way the Boston City Council has local clergy members start its weekly meetings with an invocation - and over the way the city fought the group's efforts to make then Councilor Michelle Wu show up for a deposition way up on the North Shore on the day of the election in which she was running for mayor. Read more.
The Courthouse News Service reports on a hearing today before the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston on the City Council's decades-long policy of having a local member of the clergy open its weekly meetings with an invocation.
The hearing came on the Satanic Temple's appeal of a district court judge's ruling allowing the council to continue not inviting the group to give an invocation.
Surveillance photo of suspect throwing lit pipe bomb.
An alleged Christian who prefers Old Testament nomenclature was arrested in Oklahoma today on charges he tossed an IED at the headquarters of the Satanic Temple in Salem on April 8. Read more.
The Satanic Temple of Salem said today it plans to appeal a federal judge's decision on Monday to toss its suit against the City Council for not letting one of its practitioners start a council meeting with an invocation. Read more.
A federal judge today dismissed a lawsuit by the Satanic Temple of Salem against the Boston City Council over the way counncilors invites clergy members to start meetings with an invocation, concluding that councilors were recognizing the good work done in the city by the clergy, not because they're pushing a particular religious viewpoint. Read more.
The khaki bois of Patriot Front parked in Brookline Hills and took the D Line into Copley Square to pretend they really care about the Satanic Temple, holding its annual convention at the Marriott. Read more.
On one side of the Marriott in Copley Square this afternoon, a street preacher is offering free "holy water" - Poland Spring in plastic bottles, as he promises eternal life and mentions Jesus every 10 seconds or so. Read more.
Dustin Luca of the Salem News reports somebody e-mailed messages to local law enforcement and various media outlets about an alleged bomb at the Satanic Temple's Salem headquarters, which has been evacuated.
Rightwing fanatics are all atwitter about the group's Satancon at the Marriott Copley Place at end of April.
A federal magistrate judge ruled today the Satanic Temple has to pay Boston $8228.25 as reimbursement for the time four city attorneys spent successfully fighting what another judge called a "bad faith" attempt to make then Councilor Michelle Wu spend several hours in Salem on Election Day listening to church members give a candle-lit invocation and then answering questions about how the city council selects clergy members to start meetings with an invocation. Read more.
On Friday, US District Court Judge Angel Kelley once again rejected a demand from the lawyer for the Satanic Temple that she order Mayor Wu to attend a temple convocation and then answer questions about how the Boston City Council selects local clergy to give the invocations that start council meetings. Read more.
A federal judge who ruled in April that Mayor Wu doesn't have to travel to Salem to take questions from a Satanic lawyer ruled again today that Wu still doesn't have to go to Salem to take questions from the lawyer - let alone after first being forced to sit through a Satanic ceremony. Read more.
The lawyer for the Satanic Temple in Salem provided a "status report" on the group's lawsuit against the City Council over its religious invocations to the judge in the case yesterday. It's pretty easy reading and explains the group's First Amendment claim about how the council starts its meetings and why he wants Michelle Wu to sit for questioning, so have at it at the link below, but some highlights: Read more.
A lawyer for the Satanic Temple of Salem says he's going to seek a bench warrant for Michelle Wu's arrest if she doesn't show up in Salem on Sept. 12 for a deposition in the group's lawsuit over how the City Council opens its meetings with an invocation by a religious leader, and never mind that a federal judge has already told the group it can't make Wu sit for hours answering questions about the invocations. Read more.
The Satanic Temple today asked a federal judge to reinstate the free-speech and freedom-of-religion sections of its lawsuit over the way the Boston City Council selects members of the clergy to start its meetings with an invocation. Read more.
The city law department yesterday submitted a bill for $8,334.25 to account for the time four of its lawyers spent dealing with what a judge has ruled was a "bad faith" attempt by the Satanic Temple of Salem to force then Councilor Wu to spend Election Day in Salem answering questions about how the city council selects religious leaders to give invocations at the start of council meetings. Read more.
Update: City submits bill for $8,334.25.
A federal judge today dismissed a demand to make now Mayor Wu submit to a deposition in a suit by the Satanic Temple of Salem over City Council invocations, ruling the group's lawyer engaged in "impermissible antics and abusive tactics" to try to mess with Wu, antics she says means the group will now have to reimburse Boston for the time city lawyers spent fighting the effort. Read more.
A federal judge on Friday ruled Michelle Wu does not have to show up in Salem tomorrow to answer questions about how the City Council picks religious leaders to start Wednesday council meetings with an invocation. Read more.
A lawyer for the Satanic Temple in Salem today filed an explanation of why his group wants to make Michelle Wu spend several hours in Salem on Election Day to answer questions about how the City Council invites clergy to open its meetings with an invocation: To make her think about what she's done. Read more.
The Satanic Temple of Salem, whose legal team now includes a hardball lawyer with a penchant for representing right-wing provocateurs, is demanding that Michelle Wu spend a good part of Election Day in Salem, answering questions about how the City Council chooses clergy members to lead the council in invocations at its regular Wednesday meetings. Read more.
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