BALTIMORE - A federal judge in Baltimore ordered Westboro Baptist Church members to post their church building and nearly $500,000 more in cash and property while appealing a judgment for protesting a Marine’s funeral. The Kansas church members had hoped to avoid posting a bond while delaying payments in the $5 million judgment a jury awarded Albert Snyder, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder who died in Iraq.
Westboro church members preach that God kills American soldiers as punishment for the country’s tolerance of homosexuality. They protested Matthew Snyder’s Westminster funeral in March 2006 by waving signs with such messages as "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "God hates fags."
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Bennett rejected their motion Thursday, ruling it would require "extraordinary circumstances" to avoid posting a portion of the judgment.
"The property could not be sold, no further mortgage could be placed on the property, and it essentially would be frozen in time," Bennett said. He ordered liens on the $443,000 church and a $233,000 office owned by Fred Phelps, the church’s founder.
He also ordered two of Phelps’ daughters to post cash bonds within 30 days. Shirley Phelps-Roper was ordered to post $125,000; Rebekah Phelps-Davis, $100,000 because the original judgment against her was less than her sister’s.
If the church is successful in its appeal, the money would be returned and the liens would be lifted.
The church’s finances have raised questions of how members can afford to travel the country to protest hundreds of funerals each year, but only have a few hundred dollars in their bank accounts.
"If you ordered any one of them here today, they probably couldn’t afford to come, but yet they travel the world," said Sean Summers, Snyder’s attorney. "There’s money somewhere." In a telephone conservation with the court, Phelps’ daughters said they accepted the lien but vowed to fight payments even if they lost their appeal.
Phelps-Roper submitted to the court her income tax returns from last year, which showed she earned about $20,000 as a part-time lawyer. She and her husband have a home with about $175,000 in equity, and they donated about $64,000 to the church last year, Bennett said.
Phelps-Davis earned last year about $55,000 as a lawyer. She and her husband have a home worth about $162,000 in equity and they donated about $7,000 to the church, Bennett said.
msilvestri@baltimoreexaminer.com
