Westboro Baptist Church, the controversial group that just won a free speech Supreme Court case related to picketing soldiers' funerals, says it is planning to protest at the funeral for seven Perry County children who died in a fire Tuesday night.
"I'm baffled that they would choose this," said Perry County District Attorney Charles F. Chenot, III."This is a family that’s obviously apparently Christian in their beliefs and certainly shouldn't conflict with the beliefs of the Westboro Baptist Church."
Chenot said he will be alerting state police to the announcement, and it will mean there will be a law enforcement presence at the services, too.
Westboro's press release says the children's death is linked to the Supreme Court case, in which a York County father sued the church after it protested and made homophobic statements about his son, a Marine killed in Iraq.
Westboro blames society and the Perry County children's parents for their deaths in this release: Westboro.PDF
A recent ruling in their favor says they can be in any public space. That means cemeteries that are open to the public, Chenot said.
"The bottom line is that they can’t interfere with the funeral itself," he said. "They can’t block people. If they made enough noise that they overpowered the minister ... they could be cited for disorderly conduct."
The church has threatened to picket military funerals in Perry County before, Chenot said. They did not show up to those funerals, and Chenot says he hopes that this, too, is an empty threat.
"I suspect this is just to get attention," he said. "That’s the only reason I can think they would want to attend this funeral. This group doesn’t include soldiers or homosexuals -- the groups they are usually barking about."
Still, a police presence will be assembled, just in case. "Will there be some vigilante justice? I hope not," Chenot said. "But I think the potential is there."
