An Iowa Satanic prayer controversy has erupted after a former councillor ended a city council invocation with 'Hail Satan', prompting a local pastor to demand that officials reverse what he called a curse on the city.
The confrontation unfolded during the Ottumwa City Council meeting on Tuesday, 6 October, after Matt Dalbey delivered an invocation permitted under a policy adopted by the council in January. The incident has since triggered public backlash and renewed scrutiny of the city's approach to religious expression.
