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Westboro Baptist Church Faces the Music

THURSDAY MAY 1 2008 9:30 PM

Submitted by crispy. Edited By crispy.

TAGS: Westboro Baptist Church, Fred Phelps, funeral protests

Unless you've been living under a rock, you're probably familiar with the idiocy and attention-whoring of Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church.

This group of homophobic lunatics have garnered notice for such acts as regularly protesting and picketing the funerals of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, and also for planning to picket the funeral of actor Heath Ledger ... you know, because he portrayed a homosexual in a movie.

Well, they're in the news again, but they're probably not enjoying this form of attention very much.

This past October, they were found liable for violating a family�s right to privacy and intentionally inflicting emotional distress by protesting at the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder - killed in action in Iraq in 2006.

Although the original civil court decision of $10.9M in damages was later reduced to $5M, the bill has come due and legal action has been taken to collect the judgment.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett placed a lien on the properties of the church and its founder, Fred W. Phelps Sr., and ordered two of Phelps' daughters to post cash bonds of $125,000 and $100,000 within 30 days.

The church property was appraised recently at $442,800. Bennett also placed a lien on a $232,900 office building owned by Phelps and his wife that the family law firm uses. The liens mean that no new mortgages can be taken out on the properties, and no money can be borrowed against the equity in them.

Bennett noted that it would require "extraordinary circumstances" for the church to avoid posting a portion of the judgment.

Hopefully, this is only the first of many hurdles - both legal and financial - that these wackjobs will face on their long overdue road to extinction.

[Hat tip: Stiles]

57 Comments

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Tiwaz

Germany

July 2006

MAY 01, 2008 09:41 PM

And the chickeeeeens...

...come home to ROOST!

NoPantsDave

Cincinnati, OH

OLD SKOOL

MAY 01, 2008 09:47 PM

coyotemike

Tuvalu

May 2006

MAY 01, 2008 09:47 PM

This makes me so very happy.

Darke

Trego, WI

June 2005

MAY 01, 2008 09:48 PM

oooo, they're losing all their shit? One of them must be gay.

Cassiel

Aurora, CO

September 2004

MAY 01, 2008 09:55 PM

let us hope there will be more

Noctua

Palo Alto, CA

February 2004

MAY 01, 2008 10:06 PM

Taking away the bat cave! Could've have happened to a nice group of whackjobs.

Noctua

Palo Alto, CA

February 2004

MAY 01, 2008 10:33 PM

Couldn't have, I meant to say. Darn that disappearing edit button!

Subrosa

San Francisco, CA

July 2004

MAY 01, 2008 10:40 PM

crispy said:
This past October, they were found guilty of violating a family's right to privacy and intentionally inflicting emotional distress by protesting at the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder - killed in action in Iraq in 2006.

Not to be too pedantic*, but they weren't found guilty, they were found liable. IIEC is not a crime, it's a tort.

Carry on.

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

crispy

NEWSWIRE

Philadelphia, PA

MAY 01, 2008 10:43 PM

Subrosa said:

Not to be too pedantic*, but they weren't found guilty, they were found liable. IIEC is not a crime, it's a tort.

Carry on.

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

Funny, because I originally wrote 'liable' and changed it.
I'm going to change it back, just because I can.

PS - Thanks!

_kungfoo_

Omaha, NE

April 2005

MAY 01, 2008 10:59 PM

Subrosa said:

Not to be too pedantic*, but they weren't found guilty, they were found liable. IIEC is not a crime, it's a tort.

Carry on.

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

Well, they're certainly guilty of being jerk-face bigots! Next case!!

gdarklighter

San Diego, CA

August 2005

MAY 01, 2008 11:53 PM

I will not be satisfied until I get to see video of a gay black atheist kicking Fred Phelps in the balls. Repeatedly.

But, y'know, this is a good start.

LSlice

Montclair, NJ

December 2007

MAY 02, 2008 12:37 AM

I have always been fond of the theory that Fred Phelps was really an extreme performance artist, kind of like if Sascha Cohen was playing Borat all the time, and forgot that he ever had a separate identity.

Hunkpapa

United Kingdom

June 2004

MAY 02, 2008 03:12 AM

This is good news.

Morgan

SUICIDEGIRL

Morocco

MAY 02, 2008 04:53 AM

I'm generally not a vengeful person, but I can't think of many horrible things that I wouldn't want to happen to Fred Phelps and his gang of assholes.