Flying Spaghetti Monster On Display At Florida State Capitol Next To Festivus Pole, Nativity Scene

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A display dedicated to the Flying Spaghetti Monster is now on display in the Florida capitol, next to a Nativity scene, a Christmas tree and a Festivus pole.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, the display is composed of a desk chair covered in shreds of cardboard with eyes on top, made to look like the Flying Spaghetti Monster. A sign next to the "Monster" -- which was placed in the capitol on Tuesday -- says, "A closed mouth catches no noodly appendages.” – ProvHerbs 3:27."

Florida's capitol isn't the only one featuring a holiday tribute to the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The University of Wisconsin's Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics placed a similar display in the capitol building of the Badger State, with a sign calling the exhibit "ridiculous."

"Think this is ridiculous? We agree! Religious ideas should not be promoted in the halls of government. Protect the separation of Church and State, it protects us all," the AHA display says, according to a post on the group's website.

Chaz Stevens, who placed a Festivus pole made of beer cans in protest of a nativity scene in the Florida capitol, called his display "ridiculous" as well.

"What's the point? There is no point. It's ridiculous. This is the most ridiculous thing I could come up with," said Stevens, an atheist. "This is about the separation of church and state."

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Capitol Police Officer Raises Voice At Immigration Activists: 'Comprende?'

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A Capitol police officer got testy with immigration reform advocates -- including children -- on Thursday when they were singing outside the office of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to ask him to bring a bill for a vote.

"We're not going to have singing in my building," the officer said, which can be seen in a video posted by KFTStories. "We're not going to have it. Warning number one, okay? That's all you get. This is getting old real fast, okay? I'm not going to tolerate it. This is a place of business, and we do not sing in the hallway."

"Comprende?" he asked, raising his voice.

"We've got it, sir," one of the advocates replied.

There have been a number of protesters outside of Boehner's office in recent weeks, as the House prepares to finish the year without votes on immigration reform. Children are in Washington this week to protest as part of advocacy group Fair Immigration Reform Movement's "Keeping Families Together: Youth in Action" campaign.

Although people are allowed to visit congressional offices, they can be removed or arrested for disruptive behavior. Capitol Police public information officer Kimberly Schneider responded to the incident in a statement:

We are aware of the incident posted online concerning an unlawful demonstration today on U.S. Capitol Grounds.

The Department is reviewing the incident and wants to assure the public that the U.S. Capitol Police welcomes daily all people to visit and lawfully express their First Amendment rights.

Further, it is the mission of the U.S. Capitol Police and the basic training of our employees to treat all who visit the U.S. Capitol Grounds with dignity and respect.

There has been criticism of advocacy groups for using children to prove their point, some of which can be seen here.

But the groups argue that they are giving the children an opportunity to speak for themselves about how immigration policy has impacted their lives. The children with the "Keeping Families Together" campaign spoke on Thursday with Reps. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) and Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.), according to a press release from the Fair Immigration Reform Movement.

In that release, 11-year-old Esteban Verdugo is quoted telling his story to Tipton.

"The holidays are really hard for me since my dad was deported in June," he said, according to the Fair Immigration Reform Movement. "I'm scared that my stepdad could be next. It’s Christmas time and while most families are together, immigrant families like mine continue to be separated. We need to pass immigration reform now."

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Lawyer For Woman Shot By Police At U.S. Capitol Says Officers Should Be Criminally Prosecuted

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer for a Connecticut woman killed by police after a car chase outside the U.S. Capitol is requesting a Justice Department investigation.

Attorney Eric Sanders says in a letter that he believes the officers who shot Miriam Carey last month mishandled the encounter and should be criminally prosecuted.

Police have said Carey tried to ram her car into a White House barrier on Oct. 3 and then led police on a car chase that ended with her being killed near the Capitol.

Records released after the shooting show Carey had previously told police that government cameras kept her under constant surveillance and that President Barack Obama communicated with her.

The District of Columbia police department is investigating the use of deadly force, which is standard protocol for police-involved shootings.

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