Satanic Temple sues MSCS, alleges district tried to stop 'After School Satan Club'

The Satanic Temple is suing the Shelby County Board of Education, alleging that Memphis-Shelby County Schools turned a blind eye to the First Amendment and repeatedly tried to dissuade its After School Satan Club from meeting at Chimneyrock Elementary.

As it claims in a court document:

“MSCS’s illegal and discriminatory treatment of the Satanic Temple is motivated by MSCS officials’ and community members’ overt hostility toward and disdain for the Satanic Temple and the ASSC. Rather than allowing the Satanic Temple to rent school facilities on the same terms as similarly situated non-profit organizations, MSCS has chosen to defy the first amendment.”

How we got here

The relationship between the Massachusetts-based nonprofit and MSCS has been tenuous from the beginning. On Dec. 12, the Satanic Temple announced it would bring its “After School Satan Club” to Chimneyrock on Jan. 10, and offer science projects, community service projects, puzzles and games, natural activities, arts and crafts, and snacks.

The group ― which is recognized as a religious organization by the IRS ― maintained that its members don’t worship or believe in Satan, but instead view him as a literary figure who rejects tyranny. It also asserted that its clubs offer a “scientific, rationalist, non-superstitious worldview," and are only placed in schools where other religious organizations already have a presence. The Good News Club, a Christian group, meets at MSCS facilities.

More: Satanic Temple set to return to Memphis-area school with 'Before School Satan Club'

Still, community backlash to the temple’s announcement came swiftly. And though MSCS leaders acknowledged that they were legally obligated to rent out space to the Satanic Temple, they also publicly excoriated it. The day after the announcement, interim Superintendent Toni Williams gathered with school board chair Althea Greene, board member Mauricio Calvo, and various pastors from local churches to passionately denounce the group’s plans, and defend other faith-based organizations partnered with MSCS.

“As a superintendent, I am duty bound to uphold our board policy, state laws, and the constitution,” Williams said at the time. “But let’s not be fooled. Let’s not be fooled by what we’ve seen in the past 24 hours, which is an agenda, initiated to make sure that we cancel all faith-based organizations that partner with our district.”

Added Greene: “We're going to stand up and we're going to be vocal. Satan has no room in this district.”

The Satanic Temple went on to hold the After School Satan Club at Chimneyrock on Jan. 10, and on Mar. 5, it announced that times would change going forward, with the “After School Satan Club” becoming the “Before School Satan Club,” and the start time shifting to 8 a.m.

Two weeks later, the Satanic Temple filed a lawsuit with the Western District of Tennessee division of the United States District Court.

The court case

In the court document, the Satanic Temple alleges that the MSCS is unlawfully discriminating against it, by charging “excessive rental rates” and “unexpected and exorbitant security fees” that it wouldn’t charge other religious organizations or nonprofits. For example, the group claimed, MSCS charged it “upwards of $250 an hour,” whereas the Good News Club and other organizations were charged significantly less to rent facilities.

“MSCS cannot pick and choose how much it charges an organization renting its facilities based on how much it does or does not favor the organization’s viewpoint, the content of its speech, or its religious beliefs,” the group says in the document.

More: An After School Satan Club is coming to Memphis but who are the groups behind it? What we know.

For the meeting on Jan. 10, the district was initially going to charge the Satanic Temple $250. The fee was waived for this first meeting. But the Satanic Temple alleges it was charged an unexpected $2,045.60 for a security fee, and a $250 fee for “field lights” ― leading to $2,295.60 in fees for one hour. According to the document, the security fee was for 10 security offers, but the "After School Satan Club" campaign director observed only three security officers onsite, and volunteers didn’t notice extra lighting on school grounds before or after the event.

The Satanic Temple acknowledged in the document that MSCS credited “some portion” of the security and light fees back to it after the meeting but noted that the district didn't explain why.

Beyond the financial charges, the Satanic Temple claims that the district is attempting to block and hinder the “After School Satan Club” meetings. In the court document, it cites MSCS leaders’ public denouncement of the club in December; the presence of administrators, board members, and clergy at Chimneyrock during its first event; and a litany of rental requests and emails that the district did not respond to ― or responded to long after they were sent.

It also alleges that actions taken by MSCS forced the club to change its scheduled meeting time, and claims the district canceled some of its rental requests for future club meeting dates. The document cites that this was due to the district “finalizing the rental fee structure.”

“Under the First Amendment, MSCS cannot deny the ASSC [After School Satan Club] equal access to facilities,” the Satanic Temple said. “Whether school board members, administrators, staff, clergy, or other community members like or dislike the Satanic Temple simply is not relevant… By charging the Satanic Temple discriminatory fees, and overall refusing to treat it equally, MSCS is unconstitutionally discriminating against the Satanic Temple in an attempt to effectuate a heckler’s veto.”

What the Satanic Temple wants

The group wishes for MSCS to promptly approve its reservation requests, and refrain from charging what it considers “discriminatory rental fees.” It wants, according to the document, “to participate in MSCS’s rental process on the same terms as any other nonprofit organizations."

It is requesting a permanent injunction that would:

• Prohibit “unequal treatment of and unequal access for nonprofit organizations that rent MSCS facilities.”

• Prohibit “MSCS from retaliating against the Satanic Temple, the ASSC, or any member or attendee of ASSC meetings for objecting to MSCS’s unconstitutional practices and bringing this action ― including with respect to future use of MSCS facilities beyond this school year."

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It’s also seeking a declaratory judgment that “MSCS is violating the United States Constitution by charging the Temple discriminatory rental fees and security fees” because of the group's viewpoint and religion. And it wants another declaratory judgment that says MSCS’s security fee policy is “unconstitutionally vague," and gives the "security officer unbridled discretion to assess fees against disfavored organizations in violation of the First Amendment."

The Satanic Temple is requesting nominal damages of $1 for the alleged violation of its constitutional rights, an order that awards it the cost of the lawsuit ― including attorneys’ fees and expenses ― and “any other relief that the court deems just and proper.”

The Commercial Appeal reached out to MSCS about the lawsuit. In response, a district spokesperson said, "We prefer not to comment on pending litigation."

Other Lawsuits

This isn't the first time The Satanic Temple has engaged in a lawsuit with a school system.

In November, the organization reached a settlement with the Saucon Valley School District after alleging that district officials improperly blocked the "After School Satan Club" from meeting in school facilities. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented The Satanic Temple in the case, the district was required to give the organization the same access it would provide to comparable groups, and pay $200,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs to The Satanic Temple’s attorneys.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: The Satanic Temple sues Memphis-Shelby County Schools, MSCS school board