A protester who heckled openly gay presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg during a campaign event in Iowa returned for a second day Wednesday to taunt the Democrat, hurling anti-gay insults and staging a play with three men dressed as the mayor, Jesus Christ and Satan.
The trio of agitators set up a sound system near a private home in Marshalltown, Iowa, where Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., was attending a fundraiser.
As a man in white shirt and tie with a sign designating him as “Mayor Pete” flogged a person in robes carrying a cross, the devil in a blazing red wardrobe taunted them.
“Every vote is a lash on the back of Christ,” Satan said. “You have betrayed your baptismal vows.”
Media reports identified the devil character as Randall Terry, a religious activist who created the pro-life group Operation Rescue, and who has been hounding Buttigieg during his swing through Iowa.
Undeterred by the distraction, Buttigieg made his pitch to a crowd of supporters.
“A lot of people would like to see Washington look more like our cities, towns and our best mayors,” he said. “The idea of coming from the Heartland is animating this effort. It turns out there is no law that says the Heartland has to be any more conservative than the rest of the country and we have a chance to prove that.”
Terry, on Tuesday, attended a Buttigieg rally in Des Moines where he yelled out: “Remember Sodom and Gomorrah, Pete. Sodom and Gomorrah.”
The crowd began chanting “Pete, Pete” as Terry was escorted from the event.
Buttigieg, who married his partner Chasten this year, addressed the commotion caused by Terry.
“The good news is, the condition of my soul is in the hands of God, but the Iowa caucuses are up to you,” Buttigieg said, pointing to his audience.
Buttigieg, a devout Christian, was also confronted at another campaign stop in Fort Doge by a protester who shouted: “You betray your baptism.”
“Coffee after church gets a little rowdy sometimes,” Buttigieg, 37, remarked to the crowd.
“That gentleman believes that what he is doing is in line with the will of the creator,” he continued. “I view it differently. We ought to be able to view it differently and never question one another’s right to be an American.”