BREAKING: Hate crime charges DROPPED, no jail time for Christian vet who beheaded Satan statue at Iowa Capitol

Iowa prosecutors dropped hate crime charges against Michael Cassidy on Friday in exchange for a guilty plea to a less severe misdemeanor charge, The Sentinel reports.

Cassidy is the Christian US military veteran who beheaded a statue of Satan inside the Iowa Capitol last year.

Polk County Democratic Attorney Kimberly Graham enhanced Cassidy’s charges to include hate crimes, thereby increasing the potential sentence to five years in prison had he been convicted. On Friday, he entered a guilty plea for third-degree criminal mischief. In return, he avoided prison time in exchange for the payment of a fine and the dismissal of the hate crime enhancements.

David Younts, Cassidy’s attorney, told the paper that prosecutors “finally agreed to drop the hate crimes enhancement after months-long legal battles over every aspect of this case.”

“It is because of the people that came to his aid and an outstanding legal team that we were able to back the prosecutors into a corner and get this resolution,” Younts said. “Instead of a felony hate crime and jail time, Cassidy received deferred judgment for damage to property and the conviction will be expunged once the court process is complete. Forcing the prosecutors to drop the hate crime is a huge victory for Cassidy and for religious freedom.”