Kansas Klips

Satanist leader’s attempt to hold black mass inside Kansas Statehouse sparks chaos, arrests

TOPEKA—The leader of a small group of self-described satanists and at least one other person were arrested on Friday, March 28th, following a scuffle inside the Kansas Statehouse arising from an effort by the group’s leader to start a “black mass” in the rotunda. About 30 members of the Kansas City-Area Satanic Grotto, led by its president, Michael Stewart, rallied outside the Statehouse for the separation of church and state. The group also protested what members called the state’s favoritism toward Christians in allowing events inside. Governor Laura Kelly temporarily banned protests inside, just for Friday, weeks after Stewart’s group scheduled its indoor ceremony. The Satanic Grotto’s rally outside drew hundreds of Christian counter-protestors because of the Grotto’s satanic imagery, and its indoor ceremony included denouncing Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God.About 100 Christians stood against yellow police tape marking the Satanic Grotto’s area. The two groups yelled at each other while Christians also sang and called on Grotto members to accept Jesus. Several hundred more Christians rallied on the other side of the Grotto’s area, but further away. Kelly issued her order earlier this month after Roman Catholic groups pushed her to ban any Satanic Grotto event. The state’s Catholic Bishops called what the group planned “a despicable act of anti-Catholic bigotry,” mocking the Catholic Mass. Both chambers of the Legislature also approved resolutions condemning it. Before his arrest, Stewart said his group scheduled its black mass for Friday because it thought the Kansas Legislature would be in session. Stewart said the group might come back next year. “Maybe un-baptisms, right here in the Capitol,” he said. Online records showed that Stewart was jailed briefly Friday afternoon on suspicion of disorderly conduct and having an unlawful assembly, then released on a $1,000.00 bond. Witnesses and friends identified the young man trying to snatch away the script as Marcus Schroeder, who came to counter-protest with fellow members of a Kansas City-area church. Online records show Schroeder was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct, with his bond also set at $1,000.00. Dorsey said two other members were also detained but didn’t have details. The highway patrol did not immediately confirm any arrests or detentions. A friend of Schroeder’s, Jonathan Storms, said he was trying to help a woman who also sought to snatch away Stewart’s script, and “did not throw any punches.” The woman, Karla Delgado, said she came to the Statehouse with her three youngest children to deliver a petition protesting the black mass to Kelly’s office. Delgado said she approached Stewart because he was violating the governor’s order, and Highway Patrol troopers weren’t immediately arresting him. She said in the ensuing confusion, her four-year-old daughter was knocked to the ground. “When we saw that nobody was doing anything—I guess just in the moment of it—it was like, ‘He’s not supposed to be allowed to do this,’ so we tried to stop him,” she said. (Hays Post)

Former TMP employee arrested for alleged theft

HAYS—A former Thomas More Prep-Marian employee has been arrested on a requested charge of theft from the school. According to court records, Joseph Arnold Roth, 31, of Hays, was arrested on February 25th for allegedly transferring $19,153.00 from a TMP account into his personal account on or about February 5th. The crime is listed in court records as a level 9 non-person felony. Roth was released on a $2,500.00 bond. Roth entered a not-guilty plea on March 10th. Roth was set for a first appearance in Ellis County District Court in front of Judge Richard Flax on Tuesday, April 8th. The Hays Post contacted TMP principal Chad Meitner, who said the school had no comment on the case. (Hays Post)

Kansas mail carrier helps rescue injured woman

HUTCHINSON—A Hutchinson mail carrier is being hailed as a hero after she helped rescue a woman who fell in her apartment. Mail carrier Misty Hernandez was on her route on Thursday, March 27th, when she heard the faint cries of a resident in one of the apartments at the Sentney Lofts at Second Avenue and Popular Street. Hernandez said she went to the woman’s door and asked if she was okay. She said no and that she needed help. Hernandez asked to come in, and when she went around the corner, she saw the woman lying on the floor. She told Hernandez she had been lying there for three days because she didn’t have anybody to help her. Hernandez gave her some water, placed a pillow under her head to make her comfortable, and called 9-1-1. Hernandez said she had started to wonder about the resident because she had three packages in her box and lived right by the mailboxes. (Hays Post)

Kansas man charged with intentionally damaging a Tesla

WICHITA—On Thursday, March 27th, the Wichita Police Department presented the results of an investigation into an allegation of intentional damage to a Tesla Model X that occurred on March 20th in northwest Wichita, according to a statement from the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office. After a full review of the investigation, the district attorney charged 30-year-old Johnathan F. Erhart of Jefferson County with one count of criminal damage to property, severity level 9 non-person felony, in violation of K.S.A. 21-5813(a)(1s)(c)(2). Under Kansas law, severity level 9 felony carries a range of sentence of five to 17 months in the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections, depending on a defendant’s established criminal history (convictions, not arrests). After the arrest on the charged case, defendants face a “first appearance” before a judge of the District Court. At the hearing, the court will address issues related to the appointment of counsel and schedule the next court date. (Hays Post)