Anti-Gay Protesters Pepper Sprayed at Marine's Funeral

[one_voice]

(Aug. 29) -- A 62-year-old man has been arrested after he allegedly tried to fire pepper spray at members of the radical Westboro Baptist Church as they protested the funeral of a U.S. Marine.

The incident took place at around 10 a.m. Saturday in Omaha, Neb., where some 20 followers of the extremist Kansas sect -- who believe the deaths of American soldiers are divine retribution for the country's tolerance of homosexuality -- were staging a demonstration a block away from the funeral of Staff Sgt. Michael Bock. The 26-year-old Marine was killed in combat in Afghanistan's Helmand Province on Aug. 13.

Police told KETV that the group was facing off with counter-protesters when local resident George Vogel drove by in a pick-up truck. Officers on duty say they saw the driver extend his arm, and spray what they described as a "large amount" of mace into the air after turning a corner. When they later stopped and searched the pick-up, they allegedly found an "industrial-sized" pepper spray dispenser.

"Initial indications are he was probably targeting the Westboro Baptist Church ," police spokesman Michael Pecha told CNN.


*snip*

Vogel has been charged with 16 counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of felony assault on a police officer for the mace exposure, officer Pecha told CNN. He's also been slapped with one count of child neglect, since his child was in the truck at the time of the incident.

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/westboro-baptist-church-protesters-are-pepper-sprayed-at-marines-funeral-in-omaha/19612414?icid=main%7Cmain%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk3%7C167006

Video at link.

[derby378]

1. Sounds like someone on that police force is a secret Phelpsoid

That "child neglect" charge sounds so trumped-up and bogus I can't wrap my head around it.

[bluestateguy]

2. The police should not protect these people

They could just say it's a budget cutting thing in tough times.

[DrDan]

4. so they should use partisan politics to determine how to enforce the law?

[Tesha]

5. The police should protect everyone against violent assault.

Even those people who have things to say that
*YOU* don't like.

Tesha

[zbdent]

3. a few years ago, a RW deejay in the Akron area was shrieking about

"protesters" at military funerals (since a local soldier was killed and was going to be having a funeral nearby), implying it was a bunch of liberals which made spectacles at the funerals of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afg. ...

when I sent him an e-mail which pointed out that the protesters of the funeral were far more likely to agree with much of what he believed (other than the Westies' idea that Bush was coddling the gays ...), he answered me with what amounted to a "WTF???"

[Initech]

6. Bullshit! Phelps and his goons are the ones who should be arrested.