Westboro Baptist Church

Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an American hyper-Calvinist cult and hate group.[n 2] It is known for engaging in inflammatory homophobic and anti-American pickets, as well as hate speech against atheists, Jews, Muslims, transgender people, and numerous Christian denominations.[n 3] It is not affiliated with any Baptist denomination and has been denounced by Baptist conventions, including the Baptist World Alliance and the Southern Baptist Convention, and by other mainstream Christian denominations.

Westboro Baptist Church
The headquarters of the Westboro Baptist Church with the sign "godhatesamerica.com". The graffiti on the sign reads ”God Hates The Phelps (sic)”.
Theology	Hyper-Calvinism
Headquarters	Topeka, Kansas
Founder	Fred Phelps
Members	70
Official website	Official website[n 1]
Logo

The WBC has been involved in actions against gay people since 1989, when it sought a crackdown on homosexual activity at Gage Park near its headquarters. In addition to conducting anti-gay protests at military funerals, the organization pickets celebrity funerals and public events. Protests have also been held against Jews, Mormons, and Catholics. Many protests have included WBC members defacing the American flag, flying the flag upside down on a flagpole, and holding protest signs with inflammatory statements; the most notable of which being "God hates fags" and "Thank God for dead soldiers". The WBC is monitored as such by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center, and has faced accusations of brainwashing.

In 2016, Forbes stated the WBC had about 70 members. It is headquartered in the west side of Topeka, Kansas. The group was headed by Fred Phelps before his death in March 2014, although its representatives said there had been no defined leader for some time before his death. The group consists primarily of members of Phelps's extended family.

History

Advertisement for opening service of Westboro Baptist Church, Topeka Capital, 1955

Westboro Baptist Church originated as a branch of the East Side Baptist Church,[2] established in 1931 on the east side of Topeka.[3] In 1954, East Side hired Fred Phelps as an associate pastor, and then promoted him to pastor of its new plant, Westboro Baptist, which opened in 1955 on the west side of Topeka.[2] Its first public service was held on the afternoon of November 27, 1955.[4] After Westboro was established, Phelps broke ties with East Side to become independent of any Baptist denomination.[2] Phelps would go on to become a veteran of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.[5] He founded the Phelps Chartered law firm in 1964, which has since been used to sue communities that are targets of Westboro's protests.[6]

Westboro Baptist first began protesting homosexuality in 1989 after the discovery of what they referred to as a "tearoom", meaning a public lavatory used for homosexual interactions.[7] The group later began picketing Gage Park six blocks northwest of its headquarters in Topeka in 1991, saying it was a den of anonymous homosexual activity.[8] Soon, its protests had spread throughout the city, and within three years the WBC was traveling across the country.[9] Phelps explained in 1994 that he considered the negative reaction to the picketing to be proof of his righteousness.[10]

On August 20, 1995, a pipe bomb exploded outside the home of Shirley Phelps-Roper, the daughter of Fred Phelps. The blast damaged an SUV, a fence, and part of the house, but no one was injured. In 1996, two men were arrested for the bombing, and both admitted to causing the blast. They had believed Phelps-Roper's house was that of the pastor, and wanted to retaliate against Westboro's anti-gay protests at Washburn University. One of the bombers was fined $1,751 and was sentenced to 16 days in prison plus 100 hours of community service.[11]

Fred Phelps died of natural causes on March 19, 2014.[12][13][14] His daughter Shirley said a funeral would not be held because Westboro does not "worship the dead".[14] He had previously been voted out of his leadership position and, according to representatives, the organization had no defined leader in the time leading up to his death.[15]

Structure

The WBC consists primarily of members of Fred Phelps's extended family.[16] According to Forbes, it has roughly 70 members as of 2016, having previously had 80 members in 2011.[17][7] Members attend a weekly service and believe in a Calvinist theology of predestination which includes believing all disasters and catastrophes come from the hand of God.[7] Rebecca Barrett-Fox, a professor at Arkansas State University, who completed a dissertation on Westboro Baptist, has labelled it as "hyper-Calvinist".[18] The religious justification for active political hate speech has led to much controversy.[19] Members follow the organization's 'literal' interpretation of the Bible which informs their attitudes towards homosexuality and towards Judaism.[20]

The WBC's travel expenses have exceeded as much as $200,000 annually.[21] According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, it is funded entirely from within the organization and accepts no outside donations.[22] The WBC has received money from lawsuits and legal fees, through the closely related Phelps Chartered law firm, when its protests have been unlawfully disrupted.[22][23][24] For example, the firm sued the city of Topeka several times in the 1990s,[22] and received $16,500 in legal fees for a court case won against a marine's bereaved father.[23] Because the firm represents WBC in its lawsuits, it can use money from cases it wins to further fund the organization under the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976.[22][25] The WBC is considered a nonprofit organization by the federal government, and is therefore exempt from paying taxes.[26] All five of Phelps Chartered's lawyers are Phelps' children, and eleven of his thirteen children are lawyers.[27] Members of the Phelps family are expected to give ten percent of their earnings to the WBC.[28]

Positions and views

Anti-homosexuality

WBC member protesting Pope Benedict XVI outside the United Nations in New York City (2008).

The WBC is known for its anti-homosexual rhetoric.[29][30] The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) describes the group as "virulently homophobic", saying its anti-homosexual rhetoric is often a cover for antisemitism, anti-Americanism, racism, and anti-Christianity.[31] The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has added the WBC to a list of hate groups for its homophobia.[32][33] The group has also expressed transphobic messages in its protests.[34] Its homophobic outlook has led its members to protest LGBT pride events and funerals of those killed from HIV/AIDS, as well as blame homosexuals for tragedies such as the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.[7]

Antisemitism

Whatever righteous cause the Jewish victims of the 1930s–40s Nazi Holocaust had (probably minuscule, compared to the Jewish Holocausts against Middle Passage Blacks, African Americans and Christians – including the bloody persecution of Westboro Baptist Church by Topeka Jews in the 1990s), has been drowned in sodomite semen. American taxpayers are financing this unholy monument to Jewish mendacity and greed and to filthy fag lust. Homosexuals and Jews dominated Nazi Germany ... The Jews now wander the earth despised, smitten with moral and spiritual blindness by a divine judicial stroke ... And God has smitten Jews with a certain unique madness ... Jews, thus perverted, out of all proportion to their numbers energize the militant sodomite agenda... Jews are the real Nazis.

Fred Phelps on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum[35]

In 1996, Phelps began a campaign called "Topeka's Baptist Holocaust", whereby he attempted to draw attention to attacks perpetrated against WBC picketers, saying they were not random but organized attacks orchestrated by Jews and homosexuals. Phelps announced, "Jews killed Christ", and "Fag Jew Nazis are worse than ordinary Nazis. They've had more experience. The First Holocaust was a Jewish Holocaust against Christians. The latest Holocaust is by Topeka Jews against Westboro Baptist Church."[35]

In another statement, he said "Topeka Jews today stir up Kansas tyrants in persecuting Westboro Baptists. They whine about the Nazi Holocaust, while they perpetrate the Topeka Holocaust."[35]

A March 25, 2006 flier regarding a Jewish adversary of Phelps uses the phrase "bloody Jew" four times and the phrase "evil Jew" more than once every 12 sentences. The Anti-Defamation League has criticized the WBC and Phelps,[36] and keeps a sampling of WBC's fliers regarding Judaism on their website.[37]

In an interview, Margie Phelps said the WBC targeted the American Jewish community because members had "testified" to gentiles for 19 years that "America is doomed" and that "Now it's too late. We're done with them." She also claimed Jews were "one of the loudest voices" in favor of homosexuality and abortion, and that "[Jews] claim to be God's chosen people. Do you think that God is going to wink at that forever?" Phelps concluded by stating, in an apparent reference to the Book of Revelation, that all the nations of the world would soon march on Israel, and that they would be led by President Barack Obama, whom she called the "Antichrist".[38]

Islamophobia

Jael Phelps said in a 2011 interview that she and the other members of the WBC tauntingly and publicly burned a copy of the Quran while being scolded by a Muslim man, calling it an "idolatrous piece of trash" and that they were giving it the "proper respect that it deserves" by doing so.[39] They picketed the funeral of the Muslim man's wife the following week. Jael Phelps said the wife's death was partly due to her Muslim husband having spoken out against the WBC, and therefore rejecting God and bringing his "righteous judgement" down upon him. She also commented that "all those angry little Muslims can just shut their mouths."[40]

Barack Obama conspiracy theories

Margie Phelps, daughter of Fred Phelps and attorney for WBC, said in an interview with Fox News that Barack Obama would "absolutely" be going to Hell and that he was "most likely the Beast spoken of in the Revelation." She also said Obama's presidency was a sign of the Apocalypse.[41] On January 20, 2013, picketers of the Westboro Baptist Church protested Obama's second inauguration. The protesters had a legal permit and used signs with homophobic messages as well as referring to Obama as the Antichrist.[42]

Protests

A WBC member and child protesting homosexuality at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma

The WBC carries out daily picketing in Topeka and travels nationally to picket the funerals of gay victims of murder or gay-bashing, as well as those of people who have died from complications related to AIDS. It also pickets other events related or peripherally related to homosexuality; Kansas City Chiefs football games, and live pop concerts. One of Westboro's followers estimated the organization spends $250,000 a year on picketing.[43] At its peak, the group was able to carry out pickets at between six and 15 locations a day, including many in Topeka and some events farther afield.[44][45] Its public acts have cast a political spotlight on the group that has given it vast attention for its small size.[7]

The group has protested a number of high-profile events such as the funerals of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting and the West Nickel Mines Amish School Shootings. Yet, despite protesting these high-profile events, the WBC protests many local low profile events. While the messages are widely condemned, it always ensures its protests are legal in nature. Through keeping the protests non-violent and acquiring the proper permits, the WBC avoids legal trouble. However, it is the protesting of military funerals that led to the organization receiving much attention.[46] On two occasions, the WBC accepted offers for radio air time in exchange for canceling an announced protest.[47][48]

The WBC also releases parody songs. According to Steve Drain (the WBC's public information officer) in an interview with Vice News, "When we make our choice of songs, that really revolves around mostly popularity. It's mostly mainstream stuff, the whole idea of our doing parodies is to preach."[49]

Protest activities

Picketing in Topeka, with the group's signature multi-colored picket signs.

The group came into the national spotlight in 1998, when it was featured on CNN for picketing the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a young man from Laramie, Wyoming who was beaten to death by two men, allegedly because of his homosexuality.[50] The WBC later picketed productions of The Laramie Project, a play based on Shepard's murder.[51][52][53] Since then, the WBC has attracted attention for many more actual and planned funeral pickets.[54][55][56][57][58][59]

On January 25, 2004, Phelps picketed five churches (three Catholic and two Episcopalian) and the Federal Courthouse for what he said was their part in legitimizing same-sex marriages in Iowa. A community response was to hold counter-protests and a multifaith service in the municipal auditorium.[60] On January 15, 2006, Westboro members protested a memorial for Sago Mine disaster victims, claiming that the mining accident was God's revenge against the U.S. for its tolerance of homosexuality.[61]

In July 2005, the WBC declared its intention to picket the memorial service of Carrie French in Boise, Idaho. French, 19, was killed on June 5 in Kirkuk, Iraq, where she served as an ammunition specialist with the 116th Brigade Combat Team's 145th Support Battalion. Phelps Sr. said, "Our attitude toward what's happening with the war is the Lord is punishing this evil nation for abandoning all moral imperatives that are worth a dime."[62]

In 2006, Westboro picketed with banners saying "God hates fags" and "Thank God for dead soldiers" at the Westminster, Maryland, funeral of Matthew Snyder, a U.S. Marine who was also killed in Iraq.[63] Ruling on a subsequent lawsuit filed by Snyder's father, Albert Snyder, the U.S. Supreme Court decided, 8–1 in Snyder v. Phelps, that Westboro's actions constituted protected free speech.[64]

On January 26, 2008, WBC traveled to Jacksonville, North Carolina, home of Camp Lejeune, to protest the United States Marine Corps in the wake of the murder of Maria Lauterbach. Five women protested, stomping on the American flag and shouting slogans such as "1,2,3,4, God Hates the Marine Corps".[65]

On February 2, 2008, the WBC picketed during the funeral of Mormon spiritual leader Gordon B. Hinckley, a former president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The group displayed picket signs accusing him of being a "lying false prophet" and "leading millions of people astray".[66] The organization also criticized him for being too accepting of gay people, accusing him of having an ambiguous voice about homosexuality rather than taking a firm stand against it.[67] Police had difficulty determining whether the demonstration met the guidelines of protected free speech.[66]

On May 14, 2008, two days after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake which claimed the lives of at least 70,000 people, WBC issued a press release thanking God for the heavy loss of life in China, and praying "for many more earthquakes to kill many more thousands of impudent and ungrateful Chinese".[68]

Most anti-abortion activists avoided the funeral of OB/GYN Dr. George Tiller, assassinated on May 31, 2009. Held at the Wichita College Hill United Methodist Church, it was attended by 900 mourners. However, 17 members from Westboro picketed, kept at a 500-foot (150 m) distance by police. The WBC protesters held signs that read "God sent the shooter", "Abortion is bloody murder", and "Baby Killer in Hell".[69][70]

A protest against Jews, held by the Westboro Baptist Church.

On May 8, 2009, members of the WBC protested at three Jewish sites in Washington, D.C., including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) offices, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the city's largest synagogue. Margie Phelps, daughter of Pastor Fred Phelps, led the protest, holding signs stating that "God Hates Israel", "Jews Killed Jesus", "America Is Doomed", "Israel Is Doomed", and "ADL Jew Bullies". The protest was apparently part of a series of upcoming protests which the WBC has planned at Jewish institutions in Omaha, St. Louis, South Florida and Providence. The group reportedly posted a list of the upcoming protests' locations and dates, along with the statement "Jews Killed the Lord Jesus."[38]

Westboro picketed the funeral of the singer Michael Jackson after his death on June 25, 2009.[71][72] Members of Westboro have also recorded a song titled "God Hates the World", an adaptation of Jackson's charity single "We Are the World".[73]

In May 2010, Westboro picketed the funeral of heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio in Los Angeles, saying it believed the singer worshipped Satan.[74] Dio's widow urged attendees to ignore the protest, saying "Ronnie hates prejudice and violence. We need to turn the other cheek on these people that only know how to hate someone they didn't know. We only know how to love someone we know."[75]

In January 2011, the WBC announced they would picket the funeral of Christina Green, a 9-year-old victim of the 2011 Tucson shooting in which Representative Gabrielle Giffords was also (non-fatally) shot. In response, the Arizona legislature passed an emergency bill to ban protests within 300 feet (100 m) of a funeral service, and Tucson residents made plans to shield the funeral from protesters.[76][77] The group canceled plans to hold a protest during the memorial at the University of Arizona in exchange for air time on radio talk shows.[78] According to university officials, between 700 and 1,200 students amassed to counter four WBC picketers who appeared at the campus after the event.[79] Jael Phelps explained to Louis Theroux in her interview for America's Most Hated Family in Crisis that she and the other members of the WBC picketed at the funeral of a Muslim man's wife simply because the man had witnessed and scolded them for intentionally burning a copy of the Quran in public a week earlier.[39]

On May 29, 2011, the WBC intended to protest in Joplin, Missouri, at the memorial service for the victims of the May 22, 2011, tornado that leveled large portions of the town.[80] Those intending to protest the memorial service or President Obama's speech given there, or both, were refused entry into the venue by hundreds of local and regional residents,[81] including a large group of bikers from the Patriot Guard Riders.[82]

On October 5, 2011, Fred Phelps' daughter, Margie, announced via her Twitter account that the WBC would be picketing Apple Inc. founder Steve Jobs' funeral.[83] CBS News and The Washington Post noted the irony in the fact Margie used an iPhone to create the tweet.[83][84]

The WBC announced on December 16, 2012, its intent to picket at the funerals of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.[85] The online hacktivist group Anonymous and several other groups responded by organizing a human wall to shield the victims' families. The WBC then left the area without engaging in any protests.[86]

On April 15, 2013, the WBC posted a press release to its Twitter account in which it thanked God for that day's Boston Marathon bombing, and announced its plan to "picket the funeral of those killed". Pointing out the federal government is classifying the bombing as a terrorist attack, yet is being unclear about whether it is of a "domestic or foreign nature", the release went on to claim to answer the question with, "Here's a hint — GOD SENT THE BOMBS! How many more terrifying ways will you have the LORD injure and kill your fellow countrymen because you insist on nation-dooming filthy fag marriage?!" By early the next morning, nearly 4,000 people had signed a We the People petition on the White House website asking for the banning of such demonstrations by the group at victims' funerals. Additionally, a posting that same day on a Twitter account affiliated with the hacktivist group Anonymous hinted that WBC leaders would be targeted if they made good on their threat to picket the funerals.[87]

On May 20, 2013, the WBC tweeted praising God for the 2013 Moore tornado and that they would protest the funerals of the victims.[88]

On May 30, 2011, the WBC was present at Arlington National Cemetery's Memorial Day services as part of their "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" campaign. A counter protest included members of the Ku Klux Klan.[89]

Sign outside the Church thanking God for the COVID-19 pandemic

Westboro announced its intent to picket the funeral of Nelson Mandela, the pivotal figure of the anti-apartheid movement, claiming he was going to hell for committing adultery by remarrying after his divorce.[90]

The WBC celebrated the 2016 shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub that left 49 people dead and 53 others injured.[91][92] On June 18, 2016, members picketed after the attack, but around 200 people blocked view of the picketing.[93]

No-shows

The WBC has occasionally issued press releases threatening to picket sensitive events such as funerals and memorials without following through. Examples include the funerals of Natasha Richardson,[94] Elizabeth Taylor,[95] Ryan Dunn,[96] Joe Paterno,[97] Roy Tisdale,[98] Yeardley Love,[99] Charlie and Braden Powell,[100] Steve Jobs,[83] George Jones,[101] Lou Reed,[102] Pete Seeger,[103] Maya Angelou,[104] Robert H. Schuller,[105] Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman,[106] Cory Monteith,[107] Robin Williams,[108] and victims of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse.[109]

In February 2012, the WBC stated they would protest the funeral of Whitney Houston.[110] After seemingly failing to do so, Margie Phelps later claimed over Twitter to have protested Houston's funeral and uploaded an image showing WBC protestors there. However, Star-Ledger reporters later stated that no WBC protestors had been present,[111] leading to allegations of photo manipulation.[112]

Members of the group intended to picket the March 2015 funeral of actor Leonard Nimoy but were unable to find the location.[113]

Counter protests

Students kissing in front of protesters from Westboro Baptist Church at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. The students were among several hundred who turned out in May 2000 to rally against the Westboro protesters.

Counter protests are often organized to be held at sites that Westboro Baptist pickets and, in some cases, counter protesters have lined up and turned their backs on the Westboro Baptist pickets.[56][93][114][115][116][117][118][119][120][121] The Patriot Guard Riders is a motorcyclist group composed mostly of veterans who attend the funerals of members of the U.S. Armed Forces at the invitation of the deceased's family. The group was initially formed to shelter and protect the funerals from protesters from the WBC.[122]

In 1999, inspired by the murder of Matthew Shepard the previous year, Michael Moore organized a protest against homophobia for his television show The Awful Truth. He toured states with anti-sodomy laws in the "Sodomobile", a pink bus filled with gay men and women. At one point, they visited the WBC compound and got out to meet Fred Phelps, at which time Moore introduced the Sodomobile to him.[123][124][125]

Two days after the September 11 attacks in 2001, a 19-year-old man named Jared Dailey stood on the street corner facing the WBC holding up a plywood sign that said "Not today, Fred". Within two days, 86 people joined him, waving American flags and anti-hate signs.[126]

During a picket in Seaford, Delaware on May 21, 2006, one person broke through police lines and assaulted WBC members who fled into a police van. Five people faced criminal charges.[127]

Early in the morning of August 2, 2008, someone set fire to a garage near the WBC's headquarters, causing an estimated $10,000 in damages.[128][129]

On December 12, 2008, the group picketed a production of The Laramie Project at the Boston Center for the Arts. Local activists held a Phelps-A-Thon in response. Supporters pledged online to donate for every minute WBC protested. The event raised over $4,600 for an LGBT-rights project, Driving Equality.[130]

In March 2010, a Richmond, Virginia, ad hoc group formed to create a counter protest to a planned WBC visit protesting against Jewish and LGBT organizations. Pennies In Protest took pledges for each minute of the WBC protest. The funds (approx. $14,000) were then donated to those same Jewish and LGBT organizations that WBC was protesting.[131][132]

On November 30, 2010, disabled Army veteran Ryan Newell was arrested in his parked SUV outside the Wichita, Kansas, city hall while members of WBC were in a meeting inside. Guns and ammunition were found in the back of the SUV, and Newell was charged with weapons violations and felony conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. On June 23, 2011, Newell pleaded guilty to impersonating a law enforcement officer and was sentenced to two years of probation. Newell received public support for his actions, and fundraisers and websites were created by the public to help in his defense.[133][134]

On December 11, 2010, the day of the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards, a group called Line of Love planned to have about 200 protesters on the north side of West Edenton Street in Raleigh, North Carolina, while 10 Westboro members picketed on the south side of the street, two blocks away from the funeral. Westboro members who disagreed with Edwards' tolerance for gays were "promoting awareness of the dangers of homosexuality", Line of Love gave its goal as "promoting proper respect for funerals".[135][136]

On February 24, 2011, hacktivists successfully took the WBC's websites down. The WBC claims this was the work of Anonymous, but the group denied responsibility, instead identifying The Jester as the culprit.[137] During a live TV confrontation on The David Pakman Show between Shirley Phelps-Roper and Topiary of LulzSec, Phelps-Roper stated that Anonymous could not "stop God's message". In response, Topiary and an accomplice seized control of one of Westboro's subdomains during the confrontation.[138]

On September 16, 2011, when Westboro members picketed a Foo Fighters concert in Kansas City, Missouri, the band appeared on a truck float in front of the protesters. Dressed in homoerotic outfits, they performed their country-parody song "Keep It Clean" – which contained many homosexual references and overtones – from their "Hot Buns" viral video; midway though the song, lead singer Dave Grohl made a speech calling for equality and tolerance. The band uploaded a video of the impromptu performance the next day on their YouTube channel.[139]

After Westboro announced plans to picket funerals of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting on December 14, 2012, hacktivists from Anonymous executed a distributed denial of service attack (DDOS) on the Westboro's website, GodHatesFags.com, stating: "We will continuously DDOS until they are forced to put their inbred church tithes to use to pay for bandwidth."[140] Anonymous also simultaneously released a Westboro membership list, with the personal contact information for most Westboro members.[141]

In 2012, Aaron Jackson, co-founder of the charity Planting Peace, purposely purchased a home across the street from the WBC with intentions of supporting LGBT youth. In March 2013, the house was nicknamed the "Equality House" as it was painted the colors of the gay pride flag.[142]

On July 14, 2013, members of The Satanic Temple performed a "pink mass" ritual over the grave of Fred Phelps's mother. The group said that the "mass" would turn the dead woman into a posthumous lesbian.[143][144][145]

A satirical Facebook page about God raised $80,000 from fans to post a billboard in Topeka that says "God Loves Gays", which debuted on September 8, 2014.[146]

On June 18, 2016, around 200 people blocked the view of picketing by members of the WBC that occurred after the Orlando nightclub shooting.[93]

In July 2016, the WBC was a ''gym'' in Pokémon Go led by a pink Clefairy put in by players named "Love is Love". Members of the organization responded by branding the Pokémon a sodomite.[17][147]

Legal responses

Laws limiting funeral protests

In response to the protests conducted by Westboro members at Indiana funerals, a bill was introduced in the Indiana General Assembly that would make it a felony to protest within 500 feet (150 m) of a funeral. The bill provides penalties of up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine for those found to be in violation of the law. Shortly before this bill was signed members of the church had threatened to protest in Kokomo, Indiana, at a funeral service that was being held for a soldier who was killed in Iraq. On January 11, 2006, the bill unanimously (11–0) passed a committee vote,[148] and while members of the church had traveled to Kokomo to protest, they were not seen during or after the funeral service. On May 23, 2006, the state of Michigan banned any intentional disruption of funerals within 500 feet (150 m) of the ceremony. Violating the statute would be a felony, punishable by up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine for the first offense and up to four years in prison and a $10,000 fine for a subsequent offense.[149]

On May 17, 2006, the state of Illinois enacted Senate Bill 1144, the "Let Them Rest In Peace Act", to shield grieving military families from protests during funerals and memorial services of fallen military service members. A first-time violation of the Act is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine, and a second or subsequent offense is a Class 4 felony punishable by one to three years in state prison and a fine of up to $25,000.[150]

On March 29, 2006, the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act was introduced by Mike Rogers, a Republican member of the House. The bipartisan bill received a 408-3 vote in the House, after 21 representatives chose not to vote. The senate unanimously voted in approval of the law. On May 29, 2006, President George W. Bush with great symbolic significance, signed the bill into law at a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.[7][151] The bill prohibits protests within 300 feet (100 m) of the entrance of any cemetery under control of the National Cemetery Administration from 60 minutes before to 60 minutes after a funeral. Failing to adhere to this law can lead to a substantial fine of up to $100,000 or up to a year in prison.[151] The group responded to the new law with a series of tweets condemning the restrictions.[152]

On January 11, 2011, the state of Arizona held an emergency legislative session to pass a bill barring protests within 300 feet (100 m) of a funeral and within an hour from its beginning or end. The bill was swiftly signed into law ahead of the January 12 funeral of those killed in the 2011 Tucson shooting.[153][154]

On August 2, 2012, Congress passed a bill that included restrictions on demonstrators at military funerals, which became law four days later when signed by President Obama, who condemned the WBC.[155] The bill says that for 2 hours before until 2 hours after the funeral service demonstrators must stay at least 300 feet (100 m) away from the boundary of the funeral location and away from the residence of grieving family members.[156]

Supreme Court case

On March 10, 2006, the WBC picketed the funeral of Marine Lance Corporal Matthew A. Snyder in Westminister, Maryland.[157][158][159] The picket was held approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) from the church, cordoned off, for about 30 minutes before the funeral began.[160] On June 5, 2006, Snyder's father, Albert, sued for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.[161][162][163] The lawsuit alleged Fred Phelps, Rebekah Phelps-Davis, and Shirley Phelps-Roper were responsible for publishing defamatory statements about the Snyder family on the internet, including that Albert and his wife had "raised [Matthew] for the devil" and taught him "to defy his Creator, to divorce, and to commit adultery". Other statements denounced them for raising their son Catholic. Snyder further complained the defendants had intruded upon and staged protests at his son's funeral. The defamation count was dismissed on First Amendment grounds, but the case proceeded to trial on the remaining two counts.[164][165] At the trial, Snyder testified: "They turned this funeral into a media circus and they wanted to hurt my family. They wanted their message heard and they didn't care who they stepped over. My son should have been buried with dignity, not with a bunch of clowns outside."[166]

District Judge Richard D. Bennett stated the First Amendment protection of free speech had limits, including vulgar, offensive and shocking statements, and instructed the jury to decide "whether the defendant's actions would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, whether they were extreme and outrageous and whether these actions were so offensive and shocking as to not be entitled to First Amendment protection".[167] On October 31, 2007, WBC, Fred Phelps, Shirley Phelps-Roper and Rebecca Phelps-Davis were found liable for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jury awarded Snyder $2.9 million in compensatory damages, later adding a decision to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and an additional $2 million for causing emotional distress (a total of $10,900,000). The WBC said it would not change its message because of the verdict.[168][169][170] The group also said it was thankful for the publicity caused by the verdict,[171] and unsuccessfully sought a mistrial based on alleged prejudicial statements made by the judge and violations of the gag order by the plaintiff's attorney.[172] On February 4, 2008, Bennett upheld the ruling, but reduced the punitive damages from $8 million to $2.1 million, bringing the total judgment to $5 million.[173] Liens were ordered on WBC buildings and Phelps' law office in an attempt to ensure the damages would be paid.[174]

On September 24, 2009, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the WBC and reversed the lower court's award. It found their picket near the funeral was protected speech because it involved "matters of public concern, including the issues of homosexuals in the military, the sex-abuse scandal within the Catholic Church, and the political and moral conduct of the United States and its citizens", and did not violate the privacy of the service member's family.[175] On March 30, 2010, the appeals court ordered Albert Snyder to pay the WBC's court costs of over $16,000, a move Snyder's attorneys referred to as "adding insult to injury".[176] The decision led to nationwide support for Snyder, with over 3,000 promises for donations to help offset the cost; political commentator Bill O'Reilly offered to pay the entire amount of the costs on March 30.[177][178] The American Legion has also raised $17,000 to help pay Snyder's court costs.[179]

On March 8, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Snyder v. Phelps.[180] On May 28, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, joined by 42 other Senators, filed an amicus brief in support of Snyder with the Supreme Court. On June 1, Kansas Attorney General Stephen Six filed a separate brief supporting Snyder. This brief was joined by the Attorneys General of 47 other states and the District of Columbia, with Maine and Virginia being the two exceptions.[181][182] Several news and civil rights organizations filed amicus briefs in support of Phelps, including the American Civil Liberties Union,[183] the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and 21 other media organizations.[184] In an 8–1 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Phelps on March 2, 2011. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion stating: "What Westboro said, in the whole context of how and where it chose to say it, is entitled to 'special protection' under the First Amendment and that protection cannot be overcome by a jury finding that the picketing was outrageous."[185] Justice Samuel Alito, the lone dissenter, said Snyder wanted only to "bury his son in peace". Instead, Alito said, the protesters "brutally attacked" Matthew Snyder to attract public attention. "Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case," he said.[186]

Other legal responses

One local lawyer, Pedro Irigonegaray, came up with a novel way to battle the Phelpses. When Phelps Chartered, alleging 'emotional damage,' sued someone who had filed a criminal complaint against a WBC member, Irigonegaray's team requested court approval to have a psychiatrist evaluate Phelps family members to determine the alleged damage. The Phelps firm settled without delay.

Example of a response to legal action by Phelps Chartered[187]

In 1995, Phelps Sr.'s eldest grandson, Benjamin Phelps, was convicted of assault and disorderly conduct after spitting upon the face of a passerby during a picket.[188]

In the 1990s, the WBC won a series of lawsuits against the City of Topeka and Shawnee County for efforts taken to prevent or hinder WBC picketing, and was awarded approximately $200,000 in attorney's fees and costs associated with the litigation.

In 2004, Phelps Sr.'s daughter Margie Phelps and Margie's son Jacob were arrested for trespassing, disorderly conduct and failure to obey after disregarding a police officer's order during an attempted protest.[189]

In June 2007 Shirley Phelps-Roper was arrested in Nebraska and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The arrest resulted from her allowing her ten-year-old son to step on a U.S. flag during the demonstration, which is illegal under Nebraska law. The defense contended that the child's actions were protected speech, and that the state law is unconstitutional. The prosecution claimed the demonstration was not intended as political speech, but as an incitement to violence, and that Phelps-Roper's conduct might also constitute child abuse. Prosecutors later dropped charges against Phelps-Roper.[190]

On July 14, 2006, Mundy Township, Michigan billed the WBC for $5,000, after it had informed the township authorities on June 28 that a protest was planned at the Swartz Funeral Home. The bill to the WBC ensued, according to the local police chief, because the organization failed to keep a verbal contract for security. Fred Phelps' daughter claimed that the Holy Ghost had informed them not to fly to Michigan even though they had already purchased airline tickets. Security at the Webb funeral was high; 15 fire trucks were involved, as well as numerous police officers from nearby jurisdictions.[191] The township has now stated that it will not pursue the matter.

Entry bans

In August 2008, Canadian officials learned of the WBC's intent to stage a protest at the funeral of Tim McLean, Winnipeg resident killed on a bus. The protests intended to convey the message that the man's murder was God's response to Canadian laws permitting abortion, homosexuality, divorce and remarriage. In response, Canadian officials barred the organization's members from entering the country.[192]

In February 2009, British news sources discovered the WBC had announced, via its website, its intent to picket a youth production of The Laramie Project to be held at Central Studio, Queen Mary's College in the town of Basingstoke, Hampshire, on February 20, 2009.[193] This would have been its first picket in the United Kingdom.[194] In the lead-up to the picket, Members of Parliament, LGBT groups, and lobbyists appealed to British Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, requesting the WBC be blocked from entering the UK, on the basis of it inciting hatred towards LGBT people.[195][196] On February 18, 2009, two days before the intended picket date, the Home Office announced Fred Phelps and Shirley Phelps-Roper would be specifically excluded from entering the UK for having "engaged in unacceptable behaviour by inciting hatred against a number of communities", and also other members "could also be flagged and stopped if they tried to enter Britain".[197][198]

Parodies

Counter-protestor standing in front of WBC at Brown University in May 2009.

A slogan commonly invoked at the counter protests is "God hates figs".[199] Parodying the WBC all-capitals "God hates fags" signs, the counter-protest signs often invoke a passage in the Biblical book of Matthew to justify the claim about God and his feelings about figs. The signs have been noted at counter-protests at the University of Chicago;[200] in Spartanburg, South Carolina;[201] and in Portsmouth, New Hampshire,[202] as well as at the non-WBC-themed Rally to Restore Sanity.[203] The use of these satirical signs has been praised by the ACLU[204] and others.[203]

Documentation given out at various counter-protests cite biblical verses[205] in which Jesus says that none should eat the fruit of a fig tree (Mark 11:12–14), in which Jesus causes a fig tree to wither (Matthew 21:18–20), and in which God promises, as a punishment, to make someone like bad figs (Jeremiah 29:17). These are genuine citations, but are not the sole mentions of figs in the Bible.

Other sites and organizations have parodied the slogans of the WBC, including God Hates Fred Phelps,[206] God Hates Bags,[207] and God Hates Shrimp.[208] The Cooper family in Kevin Smith's 2011 film Red State was reportedly inspired by the WBC.[209]

Criticisms

Criticism from Christians and Christian organizations

Baptist churches, Baptist-affiliated seminaries, and Baptist conventions, including the Baptist World Alliance and the Southern Baptist Convention (two of the largest Baptist groups), have denounced the WBC over the years.[210] In addition, other mainstream Christian denominations have condemned the actions of the WBC.[211] Katherine Weber of The Christian Post states that "Westboro is considered an extremist group by most mainstream Christian churches and secular groups, and is well known for its aggressive protesting style."[212]

An alliance of six British religious groups (the Methodist Church of Great Britain, Baptist Union of Great Britain, United Reformed Church, Evangelical Alliance UK, Faithworks, and Bible Society-funded thinktank Theos) made a joint statement on February 19, 2009, in support of the government's entry ban for members of the WBC. They condemned the activities of the WBC, stating:

We do not share their hatred of lesbian and gay people. We believe that God loves all, irrespective of sexual orientation, and we unreservedly stand against their message of hate toward those communities. Neither the style nor substance of their preaching expresses the historic, orthodox Christian faith. And we ask that the members of Westboro Baptist Church refrain from stirring up any more homophobic hatred in the UK or elsewhere.[211][213][214]

Evangelist pastor Jerry Falwell Sr. referred to Fred Phelps as "a first-class nut".[215] The WBC picketed Falwell's funeral service on May 22, 2007.[216]

In 2013, Christian rock band Five Iron Frenzy recorded a song titled "God Hates Flags" condemning the actions of the Westboro Baptist Church and similar organizations, including such lyrics as "If God is love you got it wrong waving all your placards and flags".[217]

Other criticisms

A number of Phelps' critics have suggested that the actions of the WBC are merely a ploy to receive attention and publicity above all else, though the Phelpses themselves deny this claim. Counter-protesting against the group, they suggest, gives them attention and incentive that they do not deserve; and a more effective response against Phelps would be to ignore his family and congregation completely.[218][219][220]

A frequent critic of the WBC is political commentator Bill O'Reilly, who regularly calls the WBC "evil and despicable".[221] Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore has also criticized the WBC.[222]

In response to WBC's announcement that they would picket the vigil for victims of the December 14, 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, several petitions to the White House (using the We the People system) have been submitted, calling on the President to legally recognize WBC as a hate group, revoke its tax exemption for religious organizations, and to ban protests at funerals and memorial services.[223] One petition, backed by the hacktivist group Anonymous, was submitted the day of the shootings, and reached more than 75,000 signatures within two days.[224]

Rapper Mac Lethal uploaded a video titled "Beatbox + iPhone + Guitar + Fast Rap = Win By Mac Lethal" on December 18, 2012 that took inspiration from the actions of the WBC and the media after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Some of the lyrics include:[225][226][227]

And I might suck at guitar
but at least I've never protested a dead soldier's funeral,
and I might be losing my hair, but at least I've never judged a woman for thinking another woman is beautiful,
and sometimes, I mean sometimes,
I might even text message while I drive,
but I've never thanked God when a precious 5 year old child was shot, and died ...

Former members

Since 2004, over 20 members of the WBC, mostly family members, have left the organization and the Phelps family.[228] Several of them have accused the WBC of brainwashing.[229][230][231]

Mark Phelps, estranged son of the WBC's founder, Fred Phelps, left the organization in 1973 and began "formal healing therapy in 1988 and worked toward healing and restoration, overcoming the horrible pain and fear from the 19 years of living with" his father. Mark was re-baptized in a local church in 1994 and stated: "If I had to take my family to court and convict them of being followers of Christ, I am not sure where I would find the evidence."[232]

Nathan Phelps became a vocal LGBT rights and atheist activist.

Nathan Phelps, another estranged son who left Westboro at his 18th birthday in 1976, claims he never had a relationship with his abusive father when he was growing up and that the WBC is an organization for his father to "vent his rage and anger."[233] He alleges that, in addition to hurting others, his father used to physically abuse his wife and children by beating them with his fists and with the handle of a mattock to the point of bleeding.[233][234] Phelps' brother Mark has supported and repeated Nathan's claims of physical abuse by their father.[235]

In March 2014, Nathan posted on Facebook that his father was in a hospice in Topeka and was near death. Furthermore, Nathan also stated that he learned that Fred was excommunicated from the WBC in August 2013, for unclear reasons.[236][237] These assertions were later reaffirmed by Mark Phelps.[238] Nathan had previously predicted the organization may fall into leadership and theological crises when Fred died, because he had been the binding figure and because their beliefs hold that they are immortal, which would be disproved with the death of a member.[239] WBC spokesperson Steve Drain denied Fred Sr. was on the verge of death and refused to confirm the reported excommunication.[240] Fred Sr. died three days later.[12]

Lauren Drain, another former member of the WBC who was excommunicated in 2008, released an autobiography titled Banished in March 2013. She characterizes children, like herself, as being brainwashed into their belief system and describes consequences of questioning their belief system, such as her banishment.[241]

Libby Phelps-Alvarez, a granddaughter of the late Fred Phelps and daughter of Fred Phelps Jr. left the WBC in 2009. In 2017, she released a book entitled Girl on a Wire: Walking the Line Between Faith and Freedom. The book documents her years in the WBC and what lead up to her decision to leave and eventual departure. Phelps-Alvarez is now an advocate for gay equality.

Megan Phelps-Roper, a grandchild of Fred Phelps, left the WBC in 2012 together with her sister Grace, and explained her reasons and experiences in a TED talk.[242] In 2015, Sam Harris published an interview with her.[243] She has written a book entitled Unfollow: A Journey from Hatred to Hope, leaving the Westboro Baptist Church. She has been making a film about her experiences and notes that three of her siblings have also left the WBC.[244]

Zach Phelps-Roper is the grandson of Fred Phelps and the fourth sibling of the Phelps-Roper family to leave the WBC (besides Megan and Grace mentioned above, sibling Joshua has also left). After attempting to leave the organization five times previously, he finally left in 2014 after his views began to change. He now preaches about a life of empathy and unconditional love.[245]

Documentary media coverage

Members of the Church on the set of The Howard Stern Show in 2004

In 2001, Sundance Channel aired the film A Union in Wait, a documentary about same-sex marriage directed by Ryan Butler. Phelps and members of the WBC appeared in the film after Phelps picketed Wake Forest Baptist Church at Wake Forest University over a proposed same-sex union ceremony.

In 2005, the British satellite company British Sky Broadcasting produced an investigative piece using hidden cameras, which included footage of two of Phelps' granddaughters, Libby and Jael.[246] In the testimonial, Libby and Jael explain that they hope and pray that no one outside of Westboro becomes "elect",[246] because they want everyone else in the world to die horribly and burn in Hell,[246] and that even if they did not believe their actions were dictated by God, they would still do and enjoy them anyway.[246] The interview was not part of the hidden camera segment, and although much of the footage was taken without the knowledge or permission of Westboro, the church maintains a link to the entire report on its website.

On April 1, 2007, British television channel BBC Two broadcast Louis Theroux's The Most Hated Family in America.[247] Theroux has presented a number of documentaries about unusual or unconventional people and groups in the UK, the US and elsewhere.[248] In the documentary, Theroux questioned Shirley Phelps-Roper as to whether she had considered if Westboro's protests were more likely to "put people off the Word of Jesus Christ and the Bible". In response, she said, "You think our job is to win souls to Christ. All we do, by getting in their face and putting these signs in front of them and these plain words, is make what's already in their heart come out of their mouth."[28] Later in the documentary, Phelps-Roper agreed the $200,000 the WBC annually spent to fly to funerals to protest was money spent to spread "God's hate".[28] While being filmed by Theroux, it picketed a local appliance store because the store sold Swedish vacuum cleaners, which the group viewed as being supportive of gay people because of Swedish prosecution of Åke Green, a pastor critical of homosexuality.[249]

The website godhatesfags.com was prominently featured in The Jeremy Kyle Show, a talk show aired on the ITV network in the United Kingdom on June 5, 2007. Shirley Phelps-Roper and her daughters had been invited to express their beliefs live via satellite. On the show, Kyle criticized the Phelps for their beliefs and referred to the Phelps' children as "completely and utterly brainwashed", and to Phelps-Roper herself as "deranged".[250]

In the June 21, 2007, Channel 4 documentary Keith Allen Will Burn in Hell, starring Keith Allen, on which Phelps-Roper and some of her children agreed to appear, Phelps-Roper admitted on camera that her oldest son, Samuel, was born out of wedlock. Allen declared Phelps-Roper's vocal condemnation of strangers having sexual congress outside of marriage to be hypocritical as she was guilty of the same thing.[251]

Louis Theroux made a follow-up to his first documentary which was broadcast in the UK on April 3, 2011, America's Most Hated Family in Crisis. Theroux reported that Westboro was in a state of "crisis" and documented the departure of several young members.[252] Since then, two more prominent members have left the WBC.[253] Louis returned for a third documentary, Surviving America's Most Hated Family, in 2019.[254]

See also

• Anti-Catholicism in the United States
• Antisemitism in the United States
• Criticism of Christianity
• Hate speech
• Islamophobia in the United States
• List of organizations designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as anti-LGBT hate groups
• Societal attitudes toward homosexuality

Notes

1. The website may be blocked by some ISPs in the United Kingdom.
2. For cult descriptor, see:
   • Carter, Joe (March 19, 2014). "9 Things You Should Know About Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church". The Gospel Coalition.
   For hate group descriptor, see:
   • "Westboro Baptist Church". Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on July 7, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
   • "Active U.S. Hate Groups (Kansas)". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
   • Westcott, Kathryn (May 25, 2006). "Hate Group Targeted by Lawmakers". BBC News. Barre, Vermont. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
   • DeLong, Katie (May 21, 2009). "Hate Group Protests at Hamilton H.S." Milwaukee: WTMJ-TV. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
   • Lane, Ray (June 14, 2009). "Anti-Gay Hate Group Targets Seattle Churches". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
   • McLaughlin, Mike & Einhorn, Erin (September 27, 2009). "Kansas Hate Group Westboro Baptist Church Protest Brooklyn Synagogues". Daily News. New York. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
   • Williams, Reed & Young, Chris I. (March 3, 2010). "Opponents Rally against Westboro Baptist Hate Group". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
   • "Hate group protests this week". The Temple News. Philadelphia: Temple University. March 30, 2010. Archived from the original on April 6, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
   • Fitzgerald, W.V. (June 16, 2010). "Interview with Westboro Baptist Church: Hate in the Name of God". DigitalJournal.com. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
3. Specific Christian targets have included Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Northern and Southern Baptists, Mormons, and Assembly of God pentecostal Christians.[1]

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External links

• Official website (godhatesfags.com)
• Funeral Protests: Selected Federal Laws and Constitutional Issues – Congressional Research Service
• Westboro Baptist Church at Curlie
• Weiner, Rachel (March 18, 2010). "Westboro Baptist Church Protests Outside Obama Girls' School". The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
• Mikulan, Steven (February 25, 2009). "H8ters L.A. Vacation: Fred Phelps' Antigay Baptists Come Out on Oscar Night". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
• Melloy, Kilian (March 12, 2009). "Phelps Clan Met with Revelry and Frat Boys in Chicago". EDGE Boston. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
• "Hate Map KS". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved June 20, 2010.