Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, has put the word out it plans to picket the memorial and funeral services of former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens this week. Stevens, 86, and four others died in a plane crash Aug. 9. Pastor Fred Phelps claims the crash was an act of God's wrath for a lifelong career spent serving the federal government, which he calls "a corrupt cesspool of idolatry."
WBC is targeting Monday's memorial service at the Holy Family Cathedral and Wednesday's funeral at the Anchorage Baptist Temple. As of 11:45 a.m. Monday, neither Phelps nor his protesters had been seen at Holy Family Cathedral.
On Wednesday, he will not be allowed on Anchorage Baptist Temple's property, said ABT Pastor Jerry Prevo. "This guy looks like he's pretty well off the wall," Prevo said. "I'd like to ignore him because I just think that he's trying to get some attention."
Phelps has a long history of anti-gay and anti-military protests. He gained national attention by protesting the funeral of Matthew Shephard, a gay college student murdered in 1998 in Wyoming. Friends of Shepard's countered by wearing long white robes and huge wings to block Phelps and his supporters from view.
In 2003, he traveled to Anchorage to protest that summer's gay pride events. More recently, Phelps mobilized anti-gay marriage protests in San Francisco. He also has plans to picket the funerals of several service members killed in combat.