Former Iowa city council member delivered Satanic invocation at Ottumwa council meeting, prompting pastor's objection.
Matt Dalbey, a former Ottumwa, Iowa city council member and Satanic Temple member, delivered an invocation ending with "Hail Satan" at the October 6, 2026 city council meeting. Pastor Rick Bick objected and asked to reverse the "curse," leading to a procedural dispute that Mayor Benjamin Foote resolved by calling 30 seconds of silence. The council adopted its open invocation policy on January 20, 2026, and city officials said Dalbey's invocation did not violate it.
29
Divergence score
This event sits in the top 25% of divergence this week. 2 outlets covered it, splitting into 2 framing camps across 1 bias group.
2 camps
1 bias group
The spectrum · how 2 outlets placed this story
LeftCenterRight
Breitbart
Washington Times
Supportive of action
Neutral
Dismissive
Critical
Alarmist
International angle
Widest split · the two outlets furthest apart, and who published first
Furthest apart on this story
Breitbart
Iowa Pastor Stands Up After Former City Council Member Hails Satan in Prayer: 'That's Not Welcome Here'
spiritual warfare and cultural decline · negative
Washington Times
Pastor objects after Iowa council prayer ends with 'Hail Satan'
policy and First Amendment implications · neutral
First to report
- Breitbartfirst
- Washington Times+2.2 h
By each outlet's earliest publish time in this story. Feeds that index slowly can appear later than they printed.
The split, in one line
Breitbart frames the event as curse on the city and links it to the left's brazen advocacy of abortion, while Washington Times focuses on how far the open-prayer policy reaches and First Amendment neutrality.
How each outlet covered it
Lightly covered so far
Too few outlets to map a left-right split. Here is each take as it stands.
Sparse coverage · 2 outlets
“Iowa Pastor Stands Up After Former City Council Member Hails Satan in Prayer: 'That's Not Welcome Here'”
“Pastor objects after Iowa council prayer ends with 'Hail Satan'”
10 tracked claims across 2 outlets
Fact ledger
All10Disputed1Claimed4Corroborated5
1/2
Disputed
Dalbey is a member of the Church of Satan.
Corroborated
Disputed
9 more tracked claimsSign up free to see the full ledger