Michael Cassidy, who said Thursday that beheaded a satanic statue at the Iowa State Capitol Building, previously ran for a seat in the Mississippi House of Representatives, according to Ballot Pedia.

Cassidy is now in the middle of public attention after he confessed to removing the Baphomet statue, however, being in the public eye for Cassidy is nothing new. He sought election for a seat in the Mississippi House of Representatives, according to Ballot Pedia.

In 2022, Cassidy challenged incumbent Republican Mississippi Rep. Michael Guest with a bold social spending agenda, according to Mississippi Free Press. Cassidy’s platform included ambitious social programs like Medicare for All, significant stipends for married couples and universal basic income for families with children. (RELATED: Vulnerable House Dems Back Bernie Sanders’ Left-Wing ‘Medicare For All’ Proposal)

He later changed his stance on healthcare and family-related fiscal policies, Mississippi Today reported.  “As the richest country globally, it’s only fitting that basic healthcare should be a benefit for every citizen,” the website stated, reflecting his initial stance. “My view is to open Medicare enrollment to people of all ages.”

“That was a rough draft. To call it a plan of mine is a mischaracterization of the Guest campaign. It was never a plan, I never campaigned on it, and it was not Medicare For All,” Cassidy clarified, according to Mississippi Today. Despite Cassidy’s efforts, Guest emerged victorious, according to WLBT 3.

Cassidy recently said he decapitated a satanic statue. The Satanic Temple positioned the Baphomet statue in the State Capitol and intended it as a counterpoint to a Nativity scene also exhibited in the building. This act of display by The Satanic Temple, often known for its provocative stances, was part of a broader conversation about religious representation in public spaces.