Fred Phelps Faces Fierce Fine For Funeral Furor

Kansas' own Christian version of the Taliban, the Westboro Baptist cult, composed primarily of a single family, led by patriarch Reverend Fred Phelps, have gained their notoriety through picketing funerals with hate-filled protests against gay people and America. They have — after decades of successfully defending against such judgements — been smacked with an $11 million judgement for compensatory damages, invasion of privacy, and causing emotional distress. They were sued by the family of an American soldier killed in Iraq, at whose funeral the cult protested.

As filthy and evil as these people are, charging somebody standing on a street corner yelling profanities at people going to a funeral across the street with "invasion of privacy" (worth $6 million) is quite a stretch. The "causing emotional distress" (worth $2 million) verdict is another one that is really flimsy, especially when it is used to suppress freedom of speech.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but: Expect those two verdicts to be tossed out on appeal.

However the $2.9 million "punitive damages" levied against the Phelps' for just being assholes... Well, that one might have a small chance of surviving a non-jury verdict.