You have to remember that Phelp’s entire family are lawyers who make money suing people who attack them.
Their schtick is to *provoke* you into doing something that transfers your wealth into their bank accounts via the courts, and the news media does the world no favors by failing to investigate this scam.
They can’t sue if they’re dead
The Phelps clan and the LSM are on the same side. The media will feign shock and outrage, but their political agenda is furthered by the portrayal of Christians that Phelps tries to put forward.