God Hates Fred Phelps

federal judge in Baltimore has issued liens against a fundamentalist Kansas church and ordered two of its members to post cash bonds while they appeal a $5 million judgment resulting from the church’s protest at a military funeral.

Westboro Baptist Church has filed a motion seeking to stay November’s verdict, in which a jury found that the Topeka, Kan., church intentionally inflicted emotional distress on Albert Snyder of York, Pa. Snyder’s son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, 20, was killed in Iraq in March 2006.

Members of the church frequently picket military funerals, arguing that the deaths of U.S. troops overseas are part of God’s punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality. Since the verdict, the church has protested at other high-profile funerals in the Baltimore area, claiming that “God hates Baltimore.”

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett placed a lien on the properties of the church and its founder, Fred W. Phelps Sr., and ordered two of Phelps’ daughters to post cash bonds of $125,000 and $100,000 within 30 days.

The church property was appraised recently at $442,800. Bennett also placed a lien on a $232,900 office building owned by Phelps and his wife that the family law firm uses. The liens mean that no new mortgages can be taken out on the properties, and no money can be borrowed against the equity in them.

Bennett noted that it would require “extraordinary circumstances” for the church to avoid posting a portion of the judgment.

federal judge in Baltimore has issued liens against a fundamentalist Kansas church and ordered two of its members to post cash bonds while they appeal a $5 million judgment resulting from the church’s protest at a military funeral.

Westboro Baptist Church has filed a motion seeking to stay November’s verdict, in which a jury found that the Topeka, Kan., church intentionally inflicted emotional distress on Albert Snyder of York, Pa. Snyder’s son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, 20, was killed in Iraq in March 2006.

Members of the church frequently picket military funerals, arguing that the deaths of U.S. troops overseas are part of God’s punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality. Since the verdict, the church has protested at other high-profile funerals in the Baltimore area, claiming that “God hates Baltimore.”

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett placed a lien on the properties of the church and its founder, Fred W. Phelps Sr., and ordered two of Phelps’ daughters to post cash bonds of $125,000 and $100,000 within 30 days.

The church property was appraised recently at $442,800. Bennett also placed a lien on a $232,900 office building owned by Phelps and his wife that the family law firm uses. The liens mean that no new mortgages can be taken out on the properties, and no money can be borrowed against the equity in them.

Bennett noted that it would require “extraordinary circumstances” for the church to avoid posting a portion of the judgment.