Westboro Baptist Church Protests Marine’s Funeral, Gets Unexpected Surprise

When members of the Westboro Baptist Church showed up to protest at the funeral of a fallen U.S. Marine, they were met by thousands of counter-protesters who formed a human barrier to shield the grieving family from the hate group’s signs and chanting.

The Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, Kansas, has long drawn condemnation for its practice of picketing military funerals. The group, widely classified as a hate group, believes that American military deaths are divine punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality. Members typically carry signs bearing inflammatory slogans at the funerals of service members.

In response to these protests, a group known as the Patriot Guard Riders — a motorcycle organization composed largely of military veterans — began attending funerals at the invitation of the deceased’s families. The riders position themselves between the Westboro picketers and funeral attendees, using their presence and sometimes revving their motorcycle engines to drown out the protesters.

At this particular funeral, the counter-protest effort grew far beyond the Patriot Guard Riders. Thousands of community members turned out to form a wall of support around the funeral procession, many carrying American flags and signs honoring the fallen Marine. The counter-protesters vastly outnumbered the small contingent from Westboro, which typically sends fewer than a dozen members to any given event.

The Westboro Baptist Church, founded by the late pastor Fred Phelps, had roughly 70 members as of 2016, most of them from the Phelps family. Despite their small numbers, the group has managed to generate outsized media attention through their provocative demonstrations.

Their tactics have prompted legislative action across the country. More than 40 states have passed funeral protest laws that impose distance requirements — often 300 feet — and time restrictions around funeral services. In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in Snyder v. Phelps that Westboro’s funeral protests were protected speech under the First Amendment, a decision that sparked widespread debate about the limits of free expression.

Despite the legal protections afforded to Westboro, communities across America have consistently responded by organizing counter-protests that demonstrate solidarity with military families and rejection of the group’s message of hate.