The Westboro Baptist Church carries out daily picketing in Topeka, Kansas, and travels nationally to picket the funerals of gay victims of crimes or anti-gay attacks, 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. It is the protesting of military funerals that led to the organization receiving much attention for its small size. Protests done by Westboro Baptist Church are characterized by desecration of the American flag, hate speech said by members to onlookers, and members holding signs with predominantly homophobic and anti-American statements.
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 School shooting. As well as protesting these high-profile events, WBC protests many local low-profile events, such as Kansas City Chiefs football games and live pop concerts. While the messages are widely condemned, the organization always ensures its protests are legal in nature through keeping the protests non-violent and acquiring the proper permits.
Protest activities
Early WBC protests 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. WBC later picketed productions of The Laramie Project, a play based on Shepard's murder. Since then, WBC has attracted attention for many more actual and planned funeral pickets."Phelps' Group Protests At Soldier's Funeral" . Kansas City, MO: KMBC-TV. August 5, 2005."Church plans to picket rocker Dio's memorial service", CNN, May 30, 2010."Kansas Church Plans To Picket Child Funerals: Westboro Baptist Church Cheers Child Deaths" , Oklahoma City, OK: KOCO.
2000s 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. 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.
In July 2005, 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."Oxley, Chuck (June 14, 2005). "His church was bombed, and now he protests funerals of the war dead". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Associated Press. Retrieved October 5, 2006.
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. 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.Mears, Bill (March 2, 2011). "Anti-gay church's right to protest at military funerals is upheld". CNN. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
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".
On February 2, 2008, 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". 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.Kirby, Robert (February 26, 2008). "My surprise at finding that I belong to a gay church". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved October 24, 2011. Police had difficulty determining whether the demonstration met the guidelines of protected free speech.
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".Tan, Kenneth (May 16, 2008), "Westboro Baptist Church: 'Thank God for the Great Killer Earthquake, Shanghaiist. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
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. WBC protesters held signs that read "God sent the shooter", "Abortion is bloody murder", and "Baby Killer in Hell".George Tiller funeral draws protests but ends peacefully , Wichita Eagle, Suzanne Perez Tobias and Joe Rodriguez, June 6, 2009. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
On May 8, 2009, members of 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 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."Militant anti-gay church turns its sights on Jews by Eric Fingerhut, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), May 12, 2009.
Westboro picketed the funeral of the singer Michael Jackson after his death on June 25, 2009. Members of Westboro have also recorded a song titled "God Hates the World", an adaptation of Jackson's charity single "We Are the World".
2010s In May 2010, Westboro picketed the funeral of heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio in Los Angeles, saying it believed the singer worshipped Satan. 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."
In January 2011, 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 of a funeral service, and Tucson residents made plans to shield the funeral from protesters. 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. According to university officials, between 700 and 1,200 students amassed to counter four WBC picketers who appeared at the campus after the event. Jael Phelps explained to Louis Theroux in her interview for America's Most Hated Family in Crisis that she and the other members of 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.America's Most Hated Family in Crisis
On May 29, 2011, 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."Westboro Baptist Plans Joplin Protest" , KARK-TV (Little Rock), May 26, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2011. 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,Easley, Jason (May 30, 2011), "300 Bikers Foil Westboro Baptist Church's Obama Joplin Protest" , Politicus usa. Retrieved June 14, 2011. including a large group of bikers from the Patriot Guard Riders."Police Break Up Confrontation Between Protesters in Joplin" , KOLR (Springfield, MO), May 29, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
On October 5, 2011, Fred Phelps' daughter, Margie, announced via her Twitter account that WBC would be picketing Apple Inc. founder Steve Jobs' funeral. CBS News and The Washington Post noted the irony in the fact Margie used an iPhone to create the tweet.Martinez, Edecio (October 7, 2011). "Westboro Baptist Church uses iPhone to announce Steve Jobs' funeral protest". CBS News.
WBC announced on December 16, 2012, its intent to picket at the funerals of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. The online hacktivist group Anonymous and several other groups responded by organizing a human wall to shield the victims' families. WBC then left the area without engaging in any protests.
On April 15, 2013, 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.
On May 20, 2013, WBC tweeted praising God for the 2013 Moore tornado and that they would protest the funerals of the victims.
On May 30, 2011, 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."KKK counter-protests extremist church group" , Toronto Sun QMI, May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
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.
Following the approval of gay marriage by popular national vote in Ireland on May 22, 2015, the Westboro Baptist Church said that Ireland was led by "dogs" and had become a "cesspool of corruption". They staged a public protest using printed posters showing the flag of Côte d'Ivoire in error, thinking it was the Irish flag. Then they threw an actual Irish flag on the ground and stamped on it.The Westboro Baptist Church thinks "God Hates Ireland" after yesterday - but they got our flag wrong TheJournal.ie, May 24, 2015.In Protesting Irish Marriage Victory, Westboro Gets the Flag Wrong The Advocate, May 26, 2015.Westboro Baptist Church gets Irish flag wrong and launches hate attack on Ivory Coast The Irish Post, May 28, 2015.