Washington state has issued a $4,761 cleaning bill to embattled state Rep. Matt Shea (R-Spokane Valley) for an incident in March.
During a Satanist demonstration on the state Capitol steps in Olympia, surveillance cameras captured Shea with a bottle of olive oil during an apparent counter-protest.
Investigators say Shea spilled oil down the steps, causing thousands of dollars in damage. Officials say the oil was spilled on historic pieces of marble and sandstone and required extensive cleaning and repairs.
On Wednesday, Shea was sent a $4,761.34 bill for the damage and clean-up costs.
Justin Harvey-John Ashby, a self-described Satanist, who attended the March event, said he saw Shea pouring out the oil.
"He was mumbling a prayer and then I saw him dump out the oil on the steps," said Ashby, who considered it a risk to public safety.
He said he remembered thinking, "'What is wrong with you?'"
Ashby was glad the state gave Shea the cleaning bill.
"Hell yeah," said Ashby "I believe that he should be punished for disregarding the public safety and destroying public property."
Tarkus Claypool, media liaison for the The Satanic Temple of Washington, shared the following statement on Thursday:
"The fine people at DES (Department of Enterprise Services) are actually very protective of those granite steps. They asked us to change to our ritual to ensure that our invocation didn't damage them. We showed respect for public property as all responsible citizens should, especially elected officials.
It's going to take a lot more than Matt Shea and his bottle of salad dressing to stop us from exercising our first amendment rights. So he and the rest of the WA State legislature can count on us asking to give an invocation next year."
Gov. Jay Inslee and House and Senate leaders called for Shea to resign from the House of Representatives after an investigation determined he organized and participated in events considered "domestic terrorism" by investigators.
Shea refused to resign.
He has not responded to requests for comment.
