Printer Friendly
Email to a Friend
Anti-gay Pastor Fred Phelps Sr. Dies at 84
(AP) - The Rev. Fred Phelps Sr., the founder of a Kansas church known for anti-gay protests and pickets at military funerals, has died. He was 84.
Daughter Margie Phelps says Fred Phelps died shortly after midnight Thursday. She didn't give the cause of death or the condition that recently put him in hospice care.
Phelps founded the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, though most of the small church's members are part of his extended family.
Their activities inspired a federal law on funeral picketing and laws in more than 40 states. But in a major free-speech ruling in 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the church and its members couldn't be sued for damages.
Phelps' church preached that deaths of U.S. military personnel were God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.
© Associated Press
MOST VIEWED STORIES
St. Joseph Mo man killed in KS crash
Sunday evening kitchen fires battled in Atchison; one injured
Pole struck Friday; young cyclist struck Saturday in Atchison hit and run
Atchison man arrested following pursuit
Woman arrested after Holton search warrant
Hiawatha USD 415 Supt. announces retirement
Officer bitten during Atchison arrest
Pottawatomie Co Sheriff's Office K9 dies
Packed hearing Thurs for Atchison Co Lake's future
City Commission approves removal of breed-specific dog ban
Longtme Falls City business owner dies
Local judge among 15 seeking Supreme Court vacancy
"Highly anticipated" blackout plates coming to KS
New Jeff Co North leadership hired
New Brown Co Special Education director hired
Falls City Council takes action on vacant properties
County Commission approves bid for new landfill building
LATEST STORIES
Click It or Ticket campaign begins May 18
Boil Water Advisory Rescinded for Robinson
Pawnee City School Board meets
Johnson-Brock School Board meets
Packed hearing Thurs for Atchison Co Lake's future
Plea entered in Jackson Co child sex case
Doniphan Co to reapply for grant for ADA project
Hiawatha, Ks 66434