A fundamentalist church?s protest at the Westminster funeral of a fallen Marine plunged the Marine?s father into severe depression, disrupted his grieving and eroded his physical health, experts testified Tuesday.
Albert Snyder, father of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq in March 2006, has continued to mentally relive his son?s funeral, at which members of Westboro Baptist Church picketed with signs reading, “God hates fags” and “Thank God for dead soldiers.”
“Every time Mr. Snyder thinks about his son dying ? which you know is every day ? there?s going to be a little bug there saying, ?Not only do I have to think about my son?s death, I have to think about the protest,? ” said Sean Summers, Snyder?s attorney. “That?s his grieving process for the rest of his life.”
Snyder is suing Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., claiming intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and civil conspiracy.
For their part, Westboro members, mostly relatives of founder Fred Phelps, told the court they had helped the Snyder family by spreading God?s word through the protest.
“This was a loving act by them,” said Jonathan Katz, attorney for the church. “Their sincerely held belief is that God is omnipotent, he is all-powerful and everything God does is perfect.”
God kills U.S. soldiers to smite the country for its sins and tolerance of homosexuality, the church claims.
“Our God is a consuming fire, and if this nation goes the way of Sodom, he will destroy it,” said Shirley Phelps-Roper, a defendant and Fred Phelps?s daughter.
But as Snyder chewed on his fingernails and rocked back and forth gently, Summers recalled his client?s horror over the protesters.
“The whole time, he?s thinking, ?I can?t believe this is happening,? ” Summers said. “He?s struggling to put Matt and remember him at the front of his mind and put the defendants to the back of his mind. The defendants kicked him when he was down at his lowest point.”
