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About 60 people gathered Saturday at the Catland Bookstore in Brooklyn to use witchcraft and put a spell on new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Dakota Bracciale, co-owner of Catland, said the ceremony was more than witchcraft, it was a protest. "Yes, it's a protest, yes, it's a religious ritual, it can be both," Bracciale told CBS News.
The group gathered in a dark room with folding chairs, sang in front of a candlelit altar and read passages from the Bible aloud. On the altar were three "poppets" – or cloth dolls made to look like real people. These three people were Kavanaugh, President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Before the spell began, a small group of counter-protesters gathered in front of the bookstore to condemn the witchcraft unfolding in the interior. Several counter-protesters denounced the spell by loudspeaker.
As Christian music resounded, people gave sermons and hymns in turn. "I'm not here for Kavanaugh, I'm here for your souls," we heard from a protester.
"You can do spells, you can do what you want, it will not cancel the kingship of Jesus Christ," we heard from outside. The New York Police Department was called to the scene after receiving complaints about the noise, Bracciale told the group inside before the start of the spell ceremony.
During the ceremony, Bracciale asked the group to sing loudly so that outsiders could hear them. Counter-protesters who were outside finally calmed down, the ceremony taking place within an hour and a half.
During the first half of the event, participants were encouraged to sing and sing along with Bracciale, who directs the ceremony. During the second part of the ceremony, Bracciale invited the participants to share their thoughts, their experiences with sexual assault or whatever they would like the group to know.
"We have made a great show of solidarity," Bracciale told CBS News. "There was a really necessary catharsis for the people in the room who were struggling with what was happening in our country right now, and they did not feel totally alone."
The owner of the store has practiced witchcraft all his life. Many participants, however, did not identify themselves as wizards and do not practice witchcraft regularly. Several expressed their desire to attend the event to protest Kavanaugh's appointment to the Supreme Court after Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified that he had sexually assaulted her while she was They were both in high school.
"Everything in politics over the last two years has been pretty much nightmarish," said Reuben Baron, a participant at CBS News. "In general, I do not attend witchcraft events, but it was good to be here to support people."
"I am here to harness the power we can – natural, supernatural, and vote – to ensure that equity is represented in government," said Jeremy Tjhung, a participant, at CBS News. Tjhung brought with him a sign saying "I will vote this year".
"J & # 39; was arrested twice during Kavanaugh hearings Marie Gustafson told CBS News in Washington DC "It is really important that we continue to say that this man is violent toward women."
Some counter-protesters lingered until the end of the event. Catland Books had escorts waiting, waiting to drive the participants to their cars or their subways. The NYPD was also present on the outside, even though it did not seem to interfere. It is unknown how many people waited outside to protest and how many waited outside to watch.
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