When I came across this story yesterday after interviewing Kash Patel on the rise of national security threats in the U.S, I thought I had accidentally opened The Babylon Bee, but I quickly discovered that we are in a “trend” that I simply hadn’t caught wind of yet.

According to Washoe County’s legal counsel, this trend is “satanic invocations,” and the hellish prayer just premiered yesterday at the monthly meeting of the Washoe County Board of Commissioners.

Jason Miller, an atheist and founder of Reno Satanic, kicked off the monthly meeting with a prayer to Satan and ended his prayer with Hail Satan! Some members of the public yelled out “Jesus!”–presumably not in reactionary shock, but to replace the little devil with a kinder, gentler, and heavenly figure.

From the public dais, Miller read:

“In the name of the eternal rebel against tyrannical authority, in the spirit of your nature of the natural world, the freedoms of thought and expression, unprejudiced intellectual inquiry, economics and social progress to bring influence and guiding actions of nobility and justice to the decisions made in this chamber today, to act with might and the undertaking of responsibility that may lay ahead of this body before us today. The New Age is dawning that these decisions will play a role in. For our liberation, for here and now is our day of joy, here and now is our opportunity. May we seize this glorious day and its enchanting nights to celebrate the wonders of the natural world, as we are all part of its boundless mysteries.”

Reno Satanic notes they do not believe in an actual Satan or God but considers Satan a symbol of “rebellion against tyranny and the unjust.” They further claim in their mission statement that they are not affiliated with the Satanic Temple but are a “supportive satanic community for members to explore philosophy, religion and art.”

You must watch the short invocation here, Hail Satan, as the woman behind Miller expresses her shock and disbelief. My shock and disbelief is that an atheist who doesn’t believe in an “actual Satan or God” continually refers to a “being” in his prayer and yet has somehow founded a tax-exempt church? I am admittedly not an accountant, but it is a clever way to spread his non-theistic message and reverence to a “symbol” under the guise of a protected religion.

Reno Satanic publicly acknowledges that this is the first time their group has led the invocation in front of any state elected officials or government body as invocations were not standard practice prior to 2023, until newly-appointed commissioner Clara Andriola proposed the resolution to add an invocation at the beginning of the Board’s meetings. Seemingly, Andriola raised a little hell herself according to a detailed report by Mark Robinson at the Reno Gazette Journal:

Washoe County has not historically had “invocations” – a word used for prayers at the beginning of government meetings that are often nondenominational in content. In June 2023, Commissioner Clara Andriola requested that the board consider doing this.

In response, Washoe County staff researched best practices and legal parameters associated with this request,” said a news release after the commission approved invocations Aug. 22.

“As Washoe County serves constituents of all faiths, and expresses no preference of faith, the resolution and corresponding report outlines a set of guidelines to provide an opportunity for representatives from the faith community to offer an invocation on a monthly basis,” the release said. “No invocation shall be used to lobby or request funding or support.”

The proposal was approved unanimously.

Andriola left chambers during the satanic invocation.

Later in the meeting, when it was time for commissioner comments, Andriola said she would like to publicly state that she disagreed with the invocation presenter.

She then asked the county’s legal counsel – Nate Edwards of the district attorney’s office – to clarify the county’s requirements when honoring requests from groups wishing to deliver the invocation.

Edwards said that satanic invocations are part of a trend.

“The federal law is that you don’t have to open your floor for invocations,” he said. “If you do open your floor for invocations, then federal law is that you have to let everybody have a turn signing up. So I guess you take the good with the bad.”

Commisioner Mike Clark stuck around for Miller’s invocation noting that he “had to listen to that crap,” and warned of the unintended consequences of good intentions.

Former commission candidate and chief sheriff’s deputy Tom Green opposed the message but “thought it was ‘rather appropriate’ given his fight against so many other things the county does.”

“We know there’s a struggle for the soul of this nation, a struggle between light and dark, a struggle between good and evil. “This fight occurs at every level of the nation so why wouldn’t it be happening in Washoe County?” Green stated.

I couldn’t agree more. Sunlight is always the best disinfectant.