quote:

"Phelps Follower Arrested" The Associated Press

Omaha, Nebraska—The daughter of homophobic preacher, Fred Phelps, was arrested Wednesday for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Shirley Phelps-Roper was arrested in Bellevue, Nebraska, after her 10-year-old son stomped on an American flag during a protest at the funeral of a National Guardsman killed in Iraq.

A 1977 Nebraska law prohibits trampling of the flag. She is also facing charges of disturbing the peace.

If convicted, Phelps-Roper could be sent to jail for three months and fined $500.

Phelps-Roper says the action is protected by the US Constitution and she intends to fight the Nebraska law.

She and her son are members of her father's Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. The church's 70 members are made up mostly of Phelps' relatives. Although it professes to be Baptist, it is not affiliated with any national Baptist group.

Westboro operates Web sites including GodHatesFags and GodHatesAmerica and has been described as a cult.

Phelps and the church first came to national attention when he organized a protest by his followers outside the 1998 funeral for Matthew Shepherd, the gay college student who was beaten to death in Wyoming. The killing, Phelps' protest, and the reaction of townsfolk led to the play "The Laramie Project."

Church members routinely demonstrate at the funerals of AIDS victims and most recently at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq.

Westboro Baptist's picketing of soldiers' funerals led Congress and 34 states, including Kansas, to enact laws attempting to restrict such protests. It regularly protests at gay and HIV/AIDS events.

Last month members of the church protested at the funeral of evangelist Jerry Falwell.

About a dozen members of the church carried placards accusing Falwell of being in league with gays and of cozying up to Israel.

In attacking Falwell the church says he "warmly praised Christ-rejecting Jews, pedophile-condoning Catholics, money-grubbing compromisers, practicing **** like Mel White, and backsliders like Billy Graham and Robert Schuler, etc."

The officer who arrested Phelps-Roper said the group brought their own flags to the protest.

"The arrestee, Ms. Phelps-Roper, put one around her waist. The second one was given to a 10-year-old, who put it on the ground and started kicking it in the area they were protesting," Officer Joe Gray said.

"It appears the adults weren't stepping on the flag because they knew it was a violation of the law. But they allowed the children to go ahead and do that."

quote: (post)

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
Heh heh . . . serves 'em right.

quote: (post)

Originally posted by Goddess Kali
Another JIA sock, hope not

quote: (post)

Originally posted by JesusTheChrist
JIA rocks, he be having no life and posting useless message in KMC and shit.

quote: (post)

Originally posted by Goddess Kali
You are my kind of man

quote: (post)

Originally posted by JesusTheChrist
Whoa whoa dude, my daddy-o says that homosexuality is abomination!...Oh what the hell, come here you!

quote: (post)

Originally posted by Robtard
Though I find the act of desecrating a flag retarded in the extreme, I do not think there should be laws against it. Still, I am happy Shirley will be going to jail, hopefully some large lesbian teaches her a thing or two about humility.

quote: (post)

Originally posted by Schecter
yeah, i dont give a **** about them burning flags. i want to see them arrested while desecrating funerals.

**** the flag.