Claims of Satanic Wedding Against Iowa State Senator Refuted
False allegations have surfaced from Iowa Rep. Zach Nunn and other Republicans, accusing Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott of officiating a Satanic wedding.
Trone Garriott, a Lutheran minister and state senator, is challenging Nunn in an upcoming election. Nunn is considered one of the most vulnerable House Republicans facing reelection.
In 2023, during the Des Moines Storytellers Project, Trone Garriott shared a narrative on the theme of “love.” She described an experience from 2006, where she was approached by two self-described Satanists seeking a marriage ceremony at a West Virginia church where she served as a minister-in-training.
Although initially uncomfortable with the request, Trone Garriott’s head pastor instructed her to participate and select a Bible verse to read at the ceremony. She learned the importance of showing goodwill to all, even those with differing beliefs.
“It’s hard work to love one another and we often need to be reminded how,” she remarked.
Importantly, Trone Garriott neither officiated the ceremony nor was she qualified to do so at the time. The event was not Satanic; it was a Christian service conducted in a Lutheran church with readings from the New Testament.
Despite these facts, Nunn and his supporters have portrayed the incident in a misleading light.
“[Trone Garriott] feels that Iowa is too white, too Christian, too male to be successful,” Nunn stated at a Clarke County Republican Liberty barbeque on June 23. “She says she’s a Lutheran pastor, but then she goes out and officiates demonic weddings.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) also made a social media post in April, claiming “Trone Garriott officiated a SATANIST WEDDING” and labeling Democrats as “NUTS.”
Similar rhetoric appeared in multiple statements from Republican spokespeople.
Another criticism suggests that Trone Garriott labeled Iowa’s private Christian schools as “white enclaves” and “segregation academies” during a 2023 sermon. However, she accurately explained these terms referred to some schools established in the 1970s in response to desegregation policies, not modern schools.
These unfounded attacks may indicate Republican unease. A March poll by Conservatives for America showed Nunn leading by a narrow margin of one percentage point. Trone Garriott also raised $2.2 million last quarter, compared to Nunn’s $968,000.
The Cook Political Report currently designates the election as a toss-up.
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