Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. (born November 13, 1929) is an American pastor who is the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), an independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas, which is notorious for its anti-gay protests, claiming that most natural disasters and terrorist attacks are God's punishment for a society that tolerates homosexuality.[1][2] The church is monitored as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center.[3][4][5] Phelps was a disbarred lawyer, founder of the Phelps Chartered law firm, a past civil rights activist in Kansas, and a Democrat who has five times been a candidate for political office in Kansas Democratic Party primaries. He and his daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, were banned from entering the United Kingdom.[6]
Phelps's followers frequently picket various events, especially military funerals, gay pride gatherings, high-profile political gatherings, performances of The Laramie Project, and even Christian gatherings and concerts with which he had no affiliation, arguing it is their sacred duty to warn others of God's anger. When criticized, Phelps' followers say they are protected in doing so by the First Amendment.[7][8] In response to Phelps' protests at military funerals, President George W. Bush signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act into law in May 2006,[9] and, in April 2007, Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius signed into law a bill establishing a 150-foot no-picketing buffer zone around funerals.[10]
He is known for the slogans that he and his ministry use against people he deems sinful, including "God Hates Fags", "Thank God for Dead Soldiers", "America Is Doomed", "Priests Rape Boys", and "God Hates Jews".[citation needed] Phelps claimed that God will punish homosexuals as well as various public figures such as Bill O'Reilly, Coretta Scott King, Ronald Reagan, Howard Dean, and anyone else whom his church considered "fag-enablers".[11][12] His church is built around a core of anti-homosexual theology, with many of their activities stemming from the slogan "God hates fags", which is also the name of the group's main website. Gay rights activists, as well as Christians of every denomination, have denounced him as a producer of anti-gay propaganda and violence-inspiring hate speech.[13]
In 1947, Phelps enrolled as a student at Bob Jones University, which he left after three semesters.[14] He then spent two semesters at the Prairie Bible Institute. In 1951, he earned a two-year degree from John Muir College. While at John Muir, Phelps' preached on campus, attacking "sins committed on campus by students and teachers ... promiscuous petting ... evil language ... profanity ... cheating ... teachers' filthy jokes in classrooms ... [and] pandering to the lusts of the flesh", was written about in Time magazine.[15]
Civil rights attorney
Phelps earned a law degree from Washburn University in 1962, and founded the Phelps Chartered law firm in 1964.[citation needed] The first notable cases were related to civil rights. "I systematically brought down the Jim Crow laws of this town," he says.[13] Phelps' daughter was quoted as saying, "We took on the Jim Crow establishment, and Kansas did not take that sitting down. They used to shoot our car windows out, screaming we were nigger lovers," and that the Phelps law firm made up one-third of the state's federal docket of civil rights cases.[16]
Phelps took cases on behalf of African American clients alleging racial discrimination by school systems, and a predominantly black American Legion post which had been raided by police, alleging racially based police abuse.[citation needed] Phelps' law firm obtained settlements for some clients.[17] Phelps also sued then-President Ronald Reagan over Reagan's appointment of a U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, alleging this violated separation of church and state. The case was dismissed by the U.S. district court.[17][18] Phelps' law firm, staffed by himself and family members also represented non-white Kansans in discrimination actions against Kansas Power and Light, Southwestern Bell, and the Topeka City Attorney, and represented two female professors alleging discrimination in Kansas universities.[16]
In the 1980s, Phelps received awards from the Greater Kansas City Chapter of Blacks in Government and the Bonner Springs branch of the NAACP, for his work on behalf of black clients.[19]
Disbarment
A formal complaint was filed against Phelps on November 8, 1977, by the Kansas State Board of Law Examiners for his conduct during a lawsuit against a court reporter named Carolene Brady. Brady had failed to have a court transcript ready for Phelps on the day he asked for it; though it did not affect the outcome of the case for which Phelps had requested the transcript, Phelps still requested $22,000 in damages from her.[citation needed] In the ensuing trial, Phelps called Brady to the stand, declared her a hostile witness, and then cross-examined her for nearly a week, during which he accused her of being a "slut", tried to introduce testimony from former boyfriends whom Phelps wanted to subpoena, and accused her of a variety of perverse sexual acts, ultimately reducing her to tears on the stand.[20] Phelps lost the case; according to the Kansas Supreme Court:
| “ | The trial became an exhibition of a personal vendetta by Phelps against Carolene Brady. His examination was replete with repetition, badgering, innuendo, belligerence, irrelevant and immaterial matter, evidencing only a desire to hurt and destroy the defendant. The jury verdict didn't stop the onslaught of Phelps. He was not satisfied with the hurt, pain, and damage he had visited on Carolene Brady.[20] | ” |
In an appeal, Phelps prepared affidavits swearing to the court that he had eight witnesses whose testimony would convince the court to rule in his favor. Brady, in turn, obtained sworn, signed affidavits from the eight people in question, all of whom said that Phelps had never contacted them and that they had no reason to testify against Brady. Phelps had committed perjury.[20]
On July 20, 1979, Phelps was permanently disbarred from practicing law in the state of Kansas,[20] though he continued to practice in the Federal courts.
In 1985, nine Federal judges filed a disciplinary complaint against Phelps and five of his children, alleging false accusations against the judges. In 1989, the complaint was settled; Phelps agreed to stop practicing law in Federal court permanently, and two of his children were suspended for periods of six months and one year.[21]
Activities and statements
All of Phelps' recent actions were in conjunction with the congregation of Westboro Baptist Church; see Westboro's notable activities. In 2001, Phelps estimated that the WBC had held 40 pickets a week for the previous 10 years.[22]
Religious beliefs
Phelps describes himself as an Old School Baptist, and states that he holds to all five points of Calvinism.[23] Phelps particularly highlights John Calvin's doctrine of unconditional election, the belief that God has elected certain people for salvation before birth, and limited atonement, the belief that Christ only died for the elect, and condemns those who believe otherwise.[24]
Phelps views Arminianism (particularly the views of the Methodist theologian William Munsey) as a "worse blasphemy and heresy than that heard in all filthy Saturday night fag bars in the aggregate in the world."[25] In addition to John Calvin, Phelps admires Martin Luther, Bob Jones, Sr., John Gill, and has stated that "what this country needs is 50 Jonathan Edwardses turned loose in it."[26] Fred Phelps particularly holds to equal ultimacy, believing that "God Almighty makes some willing and he leads others into sin," although Phelps denies being a hyper-Calvinist.[27]
Phelps is against common practices like Sunday school meetings, Bible colleges and seminaries, and multi-denominational crusades,[28] although he attended Bob Jones University and worked with Billy Graham in his Los Angeles Crusade before Graham changed his views on a literal Hell and salvation outside of Jesus Christ. Phelps considers Graham the greatest false prophet since Balaam, and also condemns large church leaders such as Robert Schuller and Jerry Falwell, in addition to all current Catholics.[29]
Many[citation needed] other Calvinists, such as James White,[30] do not acknowledge Phelps, and regard his church as a cult.
Allegations of abuse and cult behavior
Two of his sons, Mark and Nate, allege that their father is a child abuser and sadomasochist who repeatedly beat them with a leather strap and a mattock handle (similar to an axe handle).[31] They describe the church as a well-organized cult that elevates Phelps to demigod status, and allows him to wield absolute control over his family and congregants. They allege that Phelps's church provides structure for the congregants' enslavement and Phelps' delusion that he is the only righteous man on Earth.[32] In 1995, Mark Phelps wrote a letter to the people of Topeka to this effect; it was run in the Topeka Capital-Journal.[33]
The children's claim is partially backed up by B.H. McAllister, the Baptist minister who ordained Phelps. McAllister said in a 1993 interview that Phelps developed a delusion wherein he was one of the few people on Earth worthy of God's grace and that everyone else in the world was going to Hell, and that salvation or damnation could be directly obtained by either aligning with or opposing him.
As of 2006, Phelps maintains this belief.[32] Phelps and his family picket approximately six locations every day, including many in Topeka and some events farther afield. On Sundays, up to 15 churches may receive pickets.[34] By their own count, WBC has conducted over 30,000 pickets, in all 50 states, in over 500 cities and towns.[35] Their travel budget exceeds $200,000 annually.[36]
Nate has alleged that his father's violence toward his mother and his family was due to an addiction to amphetamines and barbiturates, which Phelps used to help meet the demands of law school. The stress of schoolwork, combined with the difficulties faced by the simultaneous use of uppers and downers, heightened Phelps' "quick, violent, and indiscriminate" temper.[37]
Many of Westboro's pickets revolve around the play The Laramie Project; Phelps says he consistently sends his followers across the country to picket every performance he finds out about.[38][39] The play documents the reaction of the people of Laramie, Wyoming, to the murder of Matthew Shepard.
Phelps is a character in the play and is portrayed negatively. When the play was made into a movie by HBO, Phelps and the WBC traveled to New York City to picket the HBO home offices with signs reading "United You'll Fall."[40] Said Phelps:
| “ | The Laramie Project is a tawdry bit of banal fag melodrama — sordid, cheap, unaffecting, drearily predictable — without the least artistic or literary merit or redeeming social value. Indeed, its only purpose is to promote sinful, soul-damning sodomy by playing on the sick, maudlin emotions of doomed, godless America and thereby to recruit ill-bred teenagers to lives of sin, shame, disease, death and hell.[41] Phelps' stated political views and activities are primarily driven by his view that the United States is "a sodomite nation of flag-worshiping idolators."[42] Anti-gayIn the movie Hatemongers, members of the Westboro Baptist Church claim their children were being "accosted" by homosexuals in Gage Park, about half-a-mile from the Phelps' home. Shirley Phelps-Roper claims that in the late 1980s Fred Phelps even witnessed a homosexual attempting to lure her then five-year-old son Joshua into some shrubbery. After several complaints to the local government about the large amount of homosexual sex occurring in the park, with no resulting action, the Phelps put up signs warning of homosexual activity. This resulted in much negative attention towards the family. When the Phelps called on local churches to speak against the activity in Gage Park, the churches also lashed against the Phelps family, leading to the family protesting homosexuality on a regular basis.[16][43] In 2005, Phelps and his family held a signature drive to bring about a vote to repeal a law that protected homosexuals from workplace discrimination; they collected over 6,000 signatures, enough to bring the measure to a vote. In the aftermath of the election, 64 individuals who'd signed the petition came forward to state that Phelps' family had lied to them about what they were signing, and asked that their names be removed.[44] Also in 2005, Phelps' granddaughter Jael was an unsuccessful candidate for Topeka's City Council; she was seeking to replace Tiffany Muller, the first openly gay member of the Topeka City Council.[45] Anti-SemitismPhelps was cited by the Anti-Defamation League for his numerous anti-Semitic comments.[46] On General Wesley Clark and John Kerry (of Jewish descent):
Anti-CatholicismFred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church claim that the Roman Catholic Church is a "fag church", accuse Catholics of being idolators, and states that a large part of the Catholic priesthood are either active homosexuals, active pedophiles, or both.[47] On April 3, 2005, the day after the death Pope John Paul II, Phelps dedicated a service to celebrating the longtime pontiff's death. In his sermon, Phelps said: "You don't think he split Hell wide open? We're the only one's [sic] telling the truth about that son of a bitch."[citation needed] That day, a photo of John Paul II also appeared on Westboro Baptist Church's godhatesfags.com website. It was altered to depict the pope with horns emanating from his forehead. A caption read:
The Westboro Baptist Church also maintains the priestsrapeboys.com website. Anti-SwedishPhelps and the Westboro church run the website godhatessweden.com. Phelps has declared that the heavy Swedish losses in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, initially overestimated to be near 20,000, were God's punishment of Sweden for the promotion of homosexuality. In particular, Phelps criticized Sweden's prosecution of Åke Green. Phelps' website depicted a granite monument designed by himself that says that Green is a Christian martyr and Phelps announced plans to erect copies of the monument throughout the United States.[48] In response, Green said "I think it is appalling that people say things like that, it is extremely unpleasant," [49] which led to Phelps taking down the monument. Anti-IrishIn 2003 Phelps turned his attacks on Ireland. In a sermon preached on July 29, 2007, in which he returned to the topic, he told his congregation that he had launched a website godhatesireland.com to "expose Ireland as the Emerald (now Pink) Isle of the Sodomite Damned, –saturated with fags and dykes at every level of society and government."[citation needed] His sermon was in response to the Literary and Historical Society, a debating society in University College Dublin, which invited him to participate in a debate on homosexual adoption. The invitation was made in error, and was withdrawn within a few days. He told his congregation that in the past he had
Phelps' attack on former president Mary Robinson and Senator David Norris, both widely respected figures, drew ridicule in Ireland. Against flag idolatryFred Phelps refers to the United States as "A sodomite nation of flag-worshipping idolators."
Freedom of speechPhelps is critical of laws against hate speech pertaining to homosexuality as sin. Phelps often emphasizes hate speech laws in Sweden, resulting in the trial of Pastor Åke Green, and Canada, in his speeches. Phelps has used the term "homo-fascist" to describe countries with such laws.[52] Democratic PartyPhelps has run in various Kansas Democratic Party primaries five times, but has never won. These included races for governor in 1990, 1994, and 1998, receiving about 15 percent of the vote in 1998.[53] In the 1992 Democratic Party primary for U.S. Senate, Phelps received 31 percent of the vote.[54] Phelps ran for mayor of Topeka in 1993[55] and 1997.[56] Support for Al GorePhelps supported Al Gore in the 1988 Democratic Party primary election.[57] In his 1984 Senate race, Gore opposed a "gay bill of rights" and stated that homosexuality was not something that "society should affirm".[58] Phelps has stated that he supported Gore because of these earlier comments.[59] According to Phelps, members of the Westboro Baptist Church helped run Gore's 1988 campaign in Kansas. Phelps' son, Fred Phelps Jr., hosted a Gore fundraiser at his home in Topeka and was a Gore delegate to the 1988 Democratic National Convention.[13] Gore spokesman Dag Vega declined to comment, saying "We are not dignifying those stories with a response."[60] Opposition to Al Gore, Bill Clinton, and Hillary Rodham ClintonDuring the 1992 presidential campaign, Phelps protested Hillary Rodham Clinton during a campaign speech in support of the Clinton-Gore ticket at the University of Kansas on October 14, 1992. In Bill Clinton's second presidential campaign, Phelps and the Westboro church also opposed Clinton and Gore because of the administration's support for gay rights. The entire Westboro congregation picketed a 1997 inaugural ball,[61] denouncing Gore as a "famous fag pimp."[62] In 1998, Westboro picketed the funeral of Gore's father, screaming vulgarities at Gore and telling him, "your dad's in Hell."[62] Saddam HusseinIn 2003, before the fall of Saddam Hussein during the Iraq War, Phelps wrote Saddam a letter praising his regime for being, in his opinion, "the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets."[63] Furthermore, he stated that he would like to send a delegation to Baghdad to "preach the Gospel" for one week. Saddam granted permission, and a group of WBC congregants traveled to Iraq to protest against the U.S. The WBC members stood on the streets of Baghdad holding signs condemning both Bill and Hillary Clinton, as well as anal sex.[64] After Saddam was executed in 2006, Phelps released a video commentary that stated that both Saddam and Gerald Ford (who had died the same week) were now in Hell. Arrests and immigration restrictionsUnited StatesPhelps was first arrested in 1951 and found guilty of misdemeanor battery after attacking a Pasadena police officer. He has since been arrested for assault, battery, threats, trespassing, disorderly conduct, contempt of court, and several other charges; each time, he (along with Westboro and its other members) has filed suit against the city, the police, and the arresting officers. Though he has been able to avoid prison time, he has been convicted more than once:[65][66][67]
Phelps' 1995 conviction for assault and battery carried a five-year prison sentence, with a mandatory 18 months to be served before he became eligible for parole. Phelps fought to be allowed to remain free until his appeals process went through. Days away from being arrested and sent to prison, a judge ruled that Phelps had been denied a speedy trial and that he was not required to serve any time.[66][67] CanadaPhelps has also claimed that his congregation, along with him, have been arrested in Canada for hate speech.[68] This prompted the launch of http://www.godhatescanada.com. He has also strongly opposed the legalization of same-sex marriage in Canada and Canada's Supreme Court. United KingdomOn February 18, 2009, two days before the Westboro Baptist Church's first ever UK picket, the UK Home Office announced that Fred Phelps and Shirley Phelps-Roper would be refused entry and that "other church members could also be flagged and stopped if they tried to enter Britain".[69] In May 2009 he and his daughter Shirley were placed on the Home Office's "name and shame" list of people barred from entering the UK for "fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence".[6] Lawsuit against Westboro Baptist ChurchOn March 10, 2006, WBC picketed the funeral of Marine Lance Corporal Matthew A. Snyder, who died in combat in Iraq on March 3, 2006.[70] On June 5, 2006, the Snyder family sued Fred Phelps, WBC, and unnamed others for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.[71] On October 31, 2007, WBC, Fred Phelps and his two daughters, Shirley Phelps-Roper and Rebekah Phelps-Davis, were found liable for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. A federal jury awarded Snyder's father $2.9 million in compensatory damages, then later added 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. 9 million).[72][73] The organization said it wouldn't change its message because of the verdict. The lawsuit named Albert Snyder, father of Matthew Snyder, as the plaintiff and Fred W. Phelps, Sr.; Westboro Baptist Church, Inc.; Rebekah Phelps-Davis; and Shirley Phelps-Roper as defendants, alleging that they were responsible for publishing defamatory information about the Snyder family on the Internet, including statements 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 claims of invasion of privacy and defamation arising from comments posted about Snyder on the Westboro website were dismissed on First Amendment grounds, but the case proceeded to trial on the remaining three counts. Albert Snyder, the father of LCpl Matthew A. Snyder, testified:
In his instructions to the jury U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett stated that the First Amendment protection of free speech has limits, including vulgar, offensive and shocking statements, and that the jury must 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." See also Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, a case where certain personal slurs and obscene utterances by an individual were found unworthy of First Amendment protection, due to the potential for violence resulting from their utterance. WBC sought a mistrial based on alleged prejudicial statements made by the judge and violations of the gag order by the plaintiff's attorney. An appeal was also sought by the WBC. WBC has said that it is thankful for the verdict. On February 4, 2008, Bennett upheld the ruling but reduced the punitive damages from $8 million to $2.1 million. The total judgment then stood at $5 million. Court liens were ordered on church buildings and Phelps' law office in an attempt to ensure that the damages were paid. [74] An appeal by WBC was heard on September 24, 2009. The federal appeals court ruled in favor of Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church, stating that their picket near the funeral of LCpl Matthew A. Snyder is protected speech and did not violate the privacy of the service member's family, reversing the lower court's $5 million judgment.[75] On March 30, 2010, the federal appeals court ordered Albert Snyder to pay the court costs for the Westboro Baptist Church, an amount totaling $16,510.[76] Political commentator Bill O'Reilly agreed on March 30 to cover the costs, pending appeal.[77] A writ of certiorari was granted on an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, so the case will come up for review in the court's next term in October 2010.[78] People targeted by Fred PhelpsSince the early 1990s, Phelps has targeted several individuals and groups in the public eye for criticism by the Westboro Baptist Church after their deaths. Prominent examples include President Ronald Reagan, Diana, Princess of Wales, Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, National Football League star Reggie White, Sonny Bono, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, atheists, Islam and Muslims, murdered college student Matthew Shepard, the late children's television host Fred Rogers, the late Australian actor Heath Ledger, Jews,[79] Catholics, Swedes, the Irish and US soldiers killed in Iraq. He has also targeted the Joseph Estabrook Elementary School in Lexington, Massachusetts, center of the David Parker controversy. In 2007 he stated that he would target the late Rev. Jerry Falwell's funeral.[80] Shirley Phelps-Roper, a daughter of Fred Phelps, has appeared on Fox News, defending the WBC and attacking homosexuality. She and her children have also appeared on the Howard Stern radio show to promote their agenda and church. However, every time they appear, they are the subjects of ridicule and taunting. In a recent video sermon, Phelps targeted comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, claiming that they are among the "scoffers and mockers" referred to in the Bible, and used them as evidence that we are in the "last of the Last Days." He was particularly critical of Colbert's Emmy Awards show performance, in which Colbert, tongue-in-cheek, called the Hollywood audience "Godless sodomites."[81] He compared Colbert's comments to the "blaspheming comics" of Sodom and Gomorrah and referred to both Colbert and Stewart as "sacrilegious buffoons." Phelps' followers have repeatedly protested the University of Kansas School of Law's graduation ceremonies. In August 2007, in the wake of the Minneapolis I-35W bridge collapse, Phelps and his congregation stated that they will protest at the funerals of the victims. In a statement, the church said that Minneapolis is the "land of the Sodomite damned."[82] Phelps has recently targeted singer Lady Gaga, whom he considers a "simple slut" and a "proud whore".[83] Efforts to discourage funeral protests LegislationOn May 24, 2006, the United States House and Senate passed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, which President George W. Bush signed five days later. The act bans protests within 300 feet of national cemeteries — which numbered 122 when the bill was signed—from an hour before a funeral to an hour after it. Violators face up to a $100,000 fine and up to a year in prison.[84] As of April 2006, at least 17 states have banned protests near funeral sites immediately before and after ceremonies, or are considering it. These are: Illinois,[85][86] Indiana,[87] Iowa,[88] Kansas,[89] Kentucky,[90] Louisiana,[91] Maryland,[92] Michigan,[93] Missouri,[94] which passed the law, and Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma,[95] South Carolina,[96] South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.[97] Florida increased the penalty for disturbing military funerals, amending a previous ban on the disruption of lawful assembly.[98] These bans have been contested. Bart McQueary, having protested with Phelps on at least three occasions,[99] filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of Kentucky's funeral protest ban. On September 26, 2006, a district court agreed and entered an injunction prohibiting the ban from being enforced.[99] In the opinion, the judge wrote:
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in Missouri on behalf of Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church to overturn the ban on the picketing of soldier's funerals.[100] The ACLU of Ohio also filed a similar lawsuit.[101] Other responsesWBC is listed as a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center.[5] To counter the Phelps protests at funerals of soldiers, a group of motorcycle riders has formed the Patriot Guard Riders to provide a nonviolent, volunteer buffer between the protesters and mourners.[84] Phelps in the media The Phelps family was the subject of the TV programme The Most Hated Family in America; presented on the BBC by Louis Theroux.[102] In early 2007, Kevin Smith announced plans to produce a horror film entitled Red State featuring a religious extremist based on Phelps as a villain.[103] |