In winning protest case, father vows to put church out of business (Phelps) [View All]

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In winning protest case, father vows to put church out of business
By Rob Hotakainen | McClatchy Newspapers

* Posted on Thursday, November 1, 2007


WASHINGTON — You can't falsely yell "fire" in a crowded theater. And if Albert Snyder gets his way, you won't be able to go to a military funeral and hold up a sign that says, "Thank God for dead soldiers."

It might come as a blow to purists who want to defend free speech, no matter how ugly it is. But Snyder figures the First Amendment will survive just fine.

A day after winning a $10.9 million verdict against Westboro Baptist Church and its leaders for picketing his son Matthew's funeral last year, Snyder was tired and drained Thursday. But he was defiant, too, promising to run the Topeka, Kan., church out of business to make sure that other grieving families don't have to put up with demonstrators at funerals.

"I don't expect to collect $10 million, but I do intend to collect everything they have," Snyder said in an interview.

Snyder, 52, a salesman from York, Pa., said he celebrated the verdict by getting some sleep. Under a gag order the judge imposed, he was barred from speaking to reporters during the seven-day trial in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, but he awoke to do interviews.

"I want to spread the word about these people," he said. "I want other people to try to come forward if they've been terrorized by these people. I basically want to shut them down."

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