Veterans Memorial in Belle Plaine to Include Satanic Monument

BELLE PLAINE -- A veterans' memorial park in Minnesota will soon include a satanic monument among its tributes.

It's an unintended consequence of a free speech debate in the city of Belle Plaine.

The city is allowing the monument in its Veterans Memorial Park after the Freedom from Religion Foundation threatened to sue over another statue that features a soldier praying over a grave marked with a cross. The cross was removed once the issue was raised, but residents rallied to put it back.

City Administrator Mike Votca says the city knew it had to include everyone, so it created a free speech area for all, as long as the tributes honor veterans.

The memorial from the Satanic Temple in Salem, Massachusetts, will likely be installed next month.