What Happened on May 19
Picture this: You show up to your local government meeting. Maybe you have a zoning issue. Maybe you just want to see how your tax dollars get spent.
The meeting opens with an invocation — a moment of reflection that has been part of Clark County Commission meetings for years. And the man who walks to the podium is wearing devil horns.
That is exactly what happened in Las Vegas on May 19, 2026.
Aron Ra, identifying as a non-theistic Satanist, opened the Clark County Commission meeting with an invocation inspired by the seven tenets of the Satanic Temple.
He did not come to unify the room. He came to lecture it.
Ra told commissioners and the public:
“Let us not look back with reverence to dark times of fearful minds, unenlightened by modern scientific knowledge, but move forward with critical thinking.”
Then came the lines that are still making people's jaws drop. Ra declared:
“Let us not fear the tree of knowledge, would extend our grasp and devour its fruit. Let us make rational decisions rather than imposing outdated authoritarian religious doctrine with varied interpretations, some more vile than others.”
He closed with:
“Hail Satan, the archetype or symbol of the bringer of knowledge, and hail thyself.”
Right after that, Commission Chair Michael Naft — who had personally introduced Ra — led those gathered in the Pledge of Allegiance, where Americans vow loyalty to “one Nation under God.”
Commissioner Becker Wasn't Having It
Clark County Commissioner April Becker, the lone Republican on the board, chose not to be present in the chambers during the event. She did not stay quiet about it, either.
Becker posted to X:
“I chose to not be in chambers while the satanic ‘prayer' was taking place. While my absence didn't stop it from happening, I do hope it draws attention to the fact we need more conservatives involved in our local government.
Hopefully we add more to the ranks this November! Please put these local races at a higher priority, I could use some help!”
In a separate statement, Becker laid out exactly what went wrong. The County's own invocation guidelines prohibit divisive or demeaning language toward other groups. Political and sectarian statements are not allowed. Theatrics are not allowed.
Becker said what happened that day broke every one of those rules — and that there must be consequences. She recommends that this speaker be permanently banned from participating again.
She is right on all counts.
.@VoteAprilBecker says the Satanist who offered the invocation before a recent commission meeting “mocked and ridiculed other religious groups, which is not allowed.”
She calls for him to “be prohibited from participating again.”pic.twitter.com/HlN3u6lwnk https://t.co/W2o7Lwfvu2
— Victor Joecks (@VictorJoecks) May 22, 2026
Who Is Aron Ra, Exactly?
Ra is a prominent atheist activist and YouTuber associated with the Satanic Temple. During a 2022 interview, when asked why he would call himself a satanist if he doesn't believe Satan exists, Ra said:
“Because satanists don't believe satan exists.”
Why This Is a Big Deal
This is not really about one strange meeting. It is about something bigger.
Clark County's Board of County Commissioners is overwhelmingly controlled by Democrats — six out of seven members. The body governs the greater Las Vegas area and wields enormous power over zoning, budgets, law enforcement, and public policy in Southern Nevada.
When one party runs everything without real opposition, moments like this become possible. Invocations at government meetings have a long tradition in American civic life. The Supreme Court has upheld them. They are meant to be a unifying moment — a pause before the people's business begins.
What happened on May 19 was the opposite. It was an attack on the beliefs of many people sitting in that room.
The Satanic Temple is not a religious group in any traditional sense. It uses Satanic imagery as a political weapon — specifically designed to provoke and antagonize Christians and other people of faith. Letting them take the podium at a government meeting is not inclusion. It is a political statement dressed up as one.
What Critics Say
Some will argue this is exactly what religious freedom looks like. If Christians can give an invocation, the argument goes, then anyone can. Federal courts have sometimes agreed.
That is a legal argument worth taking seriously. But there is a difference between inclusion and deliberate provocation. Clark County already has guidelines that draw that line. The question now is whether anyone will enforce them — or whether the Democratic supermajority on that board will simply shrug and move on.
What Comes Next — And What You Can Do
The District F seat on the Clark County Commission is on the ballot this year. So is the broader question of whether conservatives show up for local races the way they show up for national ones.
Commissioner Becker made the point plainly. She could use some help. Local government shapes your daily life more directly than Washington does. Zoning. Budgets. Law enforcement. Public meetings. These are the places where culture is shaped — or surrendered.
One Republican seat changed the conversation on May 19. Imagine what a few more could do.
If you live in Clark County, find out who is running. Show up. Bring your neighbors. And the next time someone tells you local races don't matter — remember the man in the devil horns.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
