Organizers resubmit application for After School Satan Club at Virginia school after first sponsor withdraws
Organizers for the After School Satan Club still intend to kick off their first monthly meeting on Dec. 15
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Organizers are resubmitting an application to establish an After School Satan Club (ASSC) at a Virginia elementary school after the original sponsor withdrew her name.
Chesapeake Public Schools Superintendent Jared A. Cotton said the initial application for the club was withdrawn as of Tuesday, according to an email sent to parents that was provided to Fox News Digital.
"Today, the Chesapeake citizen requesting to use the facility on behalf of the ASSC has officially withdrawn their request," Cotton wrote in part. "As such, the application no longer meets the requirements of School Board Policy. At this point, the approval for building use has been canceled."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cotton noted the item will still be on the agenda for discussion at the school board’s regular meeting on Dec. 12, when he said citizens were free to attend to voice their opinions. The school district approved the building use request but emphasized that the club is not affiliated with the school.
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Close-up on a black book with a gilded Reverse Pentagram on a brown wood board. (iStock)
Hours after the initial application was canceled, local club volunteer Rose Bastet said a new application had already been submitted to the school district, according to The Virginian-Pilot.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The ASSC was scheduled to start convening in the library at B.M. Williams Primary School in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Dec. 15, according to a flyer circulating locally that was first reported by The Spectator World.
"Due to the heightened emotional situation in our city following the recent tragic mass shooting at the Walmart off of Battlefield, I am removing my name from the lease agreement for the After School Satan Club," the unidentified initial sponsor wrote, according to The Virginia-Pilot. "I do not want more division in our city as we strive to heal and are still reeling from this great loss of life."
The Baphomet statue is seen in the conversion room at the Satanic Temple where a "Hell House" is being held in Salem, Massachusetts, on Oct. 8, 2019. (JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
"We are expecting the district to have enough time to approve our newly submitted application for our scheduled first club meeting of 12/15," ASSC organizer June Everett told local 13News Now.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The club is reportedly a place where young students can learn about benevolence and empathy, critical thinking, problem-solving, creative expression, personal sovereignty and compassion.
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"The Satanic Temple is a non-theistic religion that views Satan as a literary figure who represents a metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny and championing the human mind and spirit," the local flyer said. "After School Satan Club does not attempt to convert children to any religious ideology. Instead, the Satanic Temple supports children to think for themselves."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The push to set up an ASSC has stoked backlash from local parents. Aspen Nolette, who is the founder of Chesapeake Parents for Freedom, told "Fox & Friends First" on Tuesday that parents like her are planning to fight back against its presence at the elementary school.
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"They're liars straight from the pit of hell," Nolette told co-anchor Griff Jenkins. "We're not believing anything that they're saying. We know that this is all targeted towards children in the cartoon figures. It's a way for them to get in indoctrinating."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Greg Wehner and Bailee Hill contributed to this report.