Massachusetts

Satanic Temple reopening international headquarters in Salem

SALEM, Mass. — The Satanic Temple is reopening its international headquarters in Salem, Massachusetts, in time for the Halloween season.

The 6-year-old religious organization says Monday's event comes after the building that first opened in 2016 underwent extensive renovations.

The building currently houses a more than 8-foot-tall bronze statue of the goat-headed idol Baphomet that the organization tried to get placed on the Arkansas state capitol grounds in Little Rock.

It's also home to a permanent exhibit on the history of Satanism as well as a satanic sculpture that was to be installed in a park in Belle Plaine, Minnesota, before city officials rescinded its approval.

The organization has been waging religious expression battles across the country in recent years. Salem is a city north of Boston infamous for its 17th-century witch trials.

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