Westboro Baptist Church to picket fallen Tyler soldier's funeral
POSTED: Tuesday, August 7, 2012 - 4:32pm
UPDATED: Saturday, August 25, 2012 - 2:49pm
TYLER — Westboro Baptist Church plans to picket East Texas soldier 1st Sgt. Russell R. Bell's funeral, according to a report by The Fort Bragg Patch.
Kansas-based Westboro Baptist is known for it's extreme and disruptive protests at military funerals, because they believe the deaths are a punishment from God.
One of the organizers for Westboro Baptist's protests, Jonathan Phelps, tweeted "Thank God for killing Sgt. Russell Bell, Tyler, TX by IED. WBC 2 picket funeral as service 2 all. God is not mocked: U reap what U sow. Gal 6:7"
Fort Bragg's 4th Brigade soldier, 1st Sgt. Russell R. Bell from Tyler, Texas was killed by an IED last Thursday in Afghanistan.
KETK has learned that the funeral service will be held at Fort Bragg. The date and time of the service will not be released, per request by the family.
No word yet on whether there will be a local memorial.
Military support organization Patriot Guard Riders will occassionally attend soldiers' funerals where Westboro plans to picket, in a show of support for the family.
KETK spoke with a representative of the East Texas Patriot Guard Tuesday morning, who said that the organization has not yet heard confirmation that Westboro Baptist was planning to picket, and had no plans to attend Bell's memorial service.
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It should be noted that the East Texas Patriot Guard will only attend a service at the request of the family.
In July, a large group of students and supporters turned out at Texas A&M to form a human wall to block Westboro Baptist protestors from the funeral of soldier Roy Tisdale.
If Westboro Baptist does show up to protest in Tyler, they will have some stiff restrictions.
On Monday, President Obama signed into law a veterans bill that included restrictions on demonstrations at servicemembers' funerals.
The Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, which Congress passed last week, states that protestors can not picket military funerals two hours before or after a service.
Demonstrators are also required to stay at least 300 feet away from family members during a memorial.
A release from The White House about the bill says "when men and women die in the service of their country and are laid to rest, it should be done with the utmost honor and respect."
Comments News Comments
Old Turkey August 24, 2012
at 10:27pm
Desecration of a funeral should carry the same restrictions and punishments as Desecration of a grave.
The jay hawks are fix'n to write a check their a$$ cant cash!
This cult and their activity needs to cease from existing in the USA. Soldiers such as Russell Bell fight daily for the freedoms that this cult is currently taking advantage of. Lets see how well you do elsewhere! You are no Christian! AND GOD SAID LOVE ONE ANOTHER... This is how you treat family and friends mourning the loss of their loved ones?
I can not believe that the man from Westboro Baptist Church had the audacity to post on this news story. Come to Tyler, you've got a force worth reckoning with here!
As a society you've departed from any truth and you have been turned to fables. This is the Lord's work in you to send you a strong delusion so that you believe a lie. That lie is centered around the universal goofy pseudo-religious notion that "God loves everybody." And what flows from that is, such hellish notions like, "It's okay to be gay," and "God loves the sinner, but hates the sin." That last lie was originally coined by famous buddhist Ghandi.
Well to bad my last comment didn't make it because it told how I really felt about you and your so called church. If you do show up in Tyler your more asinine than I thought. You may have got away with your little protests in other states, but i assure you, you will not get away with this nonsense in my area.
The love of God is defined by God's predestination of his elect to eternal life. He chose them to eternal life before they had done any good or evil, based upon his purpose and will. Read Ephesians Chapter 1. Any other talk of the love of God is vain babbling. We at Westboro Baptist Church preach those doctrines of grace which manifests true love. All 311 million of you proud american fools have done despite unto that spririt of grace. Ergo, you're doomed. See Hebrews 10:29.
Though lawful civil gatherings are allowed with a city permit, any and all requests for any sort of permit by this dispicable pile of filth should be denied in triplicate by the city, the police department, and any other entity that might have jurisdiction to issue such a permit. These jackasses from Kansas should find themselves up against a solid line of East Texans that will quietly and extremely forcefully keep them away from the family, the church, and the cemetary for this fallen warrior.
Russell is the son of my cousin. He served our country from 1996 and had one month before he retired from the military. Read the medals he earned protecting me and you and all those who want to oppose. Pray that God will stop them from going to the funeral. I was saved in a Baptist church many years ago. I don't know anything about Westboro except what they're doing is NOT of God but demonic.....
It is an absolute disgrace to speak of one of our fallen soldiers like that this brave young man layed down his life to protect the people of this great country and to have some communist anti american group like that to have the nerve to say these things and to threaten to protest his funeral just makes me sick to my stomach.If u dont love this country and respect and honor our men and women in uniform well get the hell out of this country!!!!!!!!!
Listen up you children of Hell:
13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
"Repent and cry out to God for fogiveness".
Westboro Baptist Church is the seat of satan. These people are no more christians than Adolf Hitler. They should be deported to the Himalayas - It's peaceful there. Then shoot them.
Please, please, please quit referring to these idiots as Westboro Baptist Church. I really think Westboro Cult would be much more appropriate don't you think? They are Independent and not affiliated with any of the Baptist Conventions and seem to be much more like a cult than a church.
The word, CHURCH, properly translated means assembling together. It is not necessarily a religious word. And by the way, these are not idiots to whom you refer. They are vile, satanistic, hate filled, and deservedly condemned unless they repent.
really? are u kidding me? wow, this is really sad. GOD DOES NOT PUNISH BY KILLING! any of the baptist that i know would be appalled at what u are doing. we have GREAT respect for ALL of our soldiers. i am honestly at a loss for words at u thanking GOD for killing someone. WOW! i have never felt so strongly about a religion protest cuz i believe to each their own but this is just wrong in my opinion. if it was not for this fallen soldier fighting for ur freedom then U might not be here!
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