From a 2021 decision by Judge Richard Jones (W.D. Wash.) in United Federation of Churches, LLC d/b/a The Satanic Temple v. Johnson, just reaffirmed yesterday on denial of a motion for reconsideration:
[According to the Complaint,] Plaintiff United Federation of Churches, LLC ("The Satanic Temple") is a religious organization. As such, its mission is to "encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense and justice, and be directed by the human conscience to undertake noble pursuits guided by the individual will." To that end, it espouses "seven fundamental tenets." Among them are beliefs such as, "[o]ne's body is inviolable, subject to one's own will alone," and "[o]ne should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs."
Two former members posted material "suggest[ing] that the Washington Chapter [of the Temple] had supported 'ableism, misogyny, and racism,' transphobia, and police brutality" and levying allegedly "false claims that [The Satanic Temple] leadership is cozy with the alt-right, are white supremacists, [and] are generally insufficiently leftist." The Temple sued for libel, but the court dismissed the claim:
