ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A coalition has formed called “Stop Derailing Christmas.” Its goal is to get The Satanic Temple’s tree removed from the National Railroad Museum’s Festival of Trees.
However, the temple’s co-founder says the outrage is just bringing more people to join the temple.
As The Satanic Temple’s tree still stands inside the National Railroad Museum, a few dozen people with the coalition gathered outside the museum Wednesday afternoon, continuing a month’s long call to remove the tree.
“Here you have people that are not just speaking out because they’re Christians, but they’re just common-sense Wisconsinites that don’t want to be assaulted by nonsense,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-8th District.
The Satanic Temple’s tree is one of 66 in the museum’s annual festival.
The museum has said it didn’t think twice about accepting the tree and continues to follow discrimination laws in allowing the tree to stay.
“When you look at really the violation of community standards, obviously it would have been well within the right of the Railroad Museum to reject this,” said State Sen. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere.
“If we refuse to engage with Christians, they’re angry about that,” said Lucien Greaves, the co-founder of The Satanic Temple. “If we accept it and say we want to be part of the overall feelings of camaraderie and good will during this season, whether or not we believe, they are angry about that too.”
The Satanic Temple is a national group that has been around for 10 years with its only Wisconsin temple in Chippewa Falls. Part of its mission is to encourage benevolence and empathy and reject tyrannical authority.
“After a while, we think when we do this (engage in public forums), people will realize we just have a different perspective on this than they might, but that we’re not moral monsters and there’s no need for this uproar and controversy,” said Greaves.
Just before this became an issue, Governor Tony Evers announced a $7 million American Rescue Plan grant to expand the museum.
Jacque and State Rep. John Macco, R-Ledgeview, say they are looking at what they can do about the grant.
“We’re looking at their funding issues and seeing if there’s anything we can do there from a leverage standpoint, because this is inconsistent with what we’re trying to do,” said Macco.
The Stop Derailing Christmas Coalition is asking people and sponsors to oppose the museum until the Satanic Temple’s tree is removed — something the museum continues to say it has no plans to do.
The coalition claims Festival Foods has withdrawn its sponsorship of the museum’s festival.
