Over 100 Christians Gather in Detroit to Protest Satanic Temple Statue

Over 100 Christians gathered in Detroit, Michigan over the weekend to protest the erection of a large, 9-foot bronze statue honoring the Satanic Temple.

Over 100 Christian reportedly gathered at Bert's Marketplace in Detroit to protest the unveiling of the statue, which shows Satan as the goat-headed Baphomet, sitting on a throne with a Pentagram etching above his head and two children kneeling at either side of him.

The Christian protesters reportedly gathered at Bert's Marketplace early on Saturday to protest the statue, which was supposed to be erected in front of the business before the business owner canceled the event after learning that the statue belonged to the Satanic Temple.

"This unveiling will not happen in the City of Detroit on my watch," Bishop Corletta Vaughn of the Holy Ghost Cathedral reportedly told the Detroit Free Press during the protest on Saturday. "I'm here to stand against this being in the City of Detroit. We will not turn over our city to Satanists. It's a violent spirit that's moving to the city and infiltrating that place. We will drive them out of Dodge."

The statue was ultimately unveiled in a ticket-only, secret ceremony later Saturday night at an old industrial warehouse near the Detroit River, according to Time magazine.

Jex Blackmore, a member of the Satanic Temple who organized Saturday evening's event, told Time in an interview that "Baphomet contains binary elements symbolizing a reconciliation of opposites, emblematic of the willingness to embrace, and even celebrate differences."

"In a sense, the statue is a stress test of American plurality: at what point does religious freedom make the people uncomfortable?" he added.