Westboro Baptist Church has become infamous for a whole lot of controversial protests throughout the years, riling-up the public as they carry on with their wearisome ‘God Hates Fags’ crusade.
However, the group will definitely not be returning to one town in Missouri, US, after being chased out by hundreds of high school students – for daring to speak out against one of its pupils.
Oak Park High School senior student Landon Patterson became the first transgender student to be crowned homecoming queen at a recent school game – something which did not go down well with Westboro.
The church decided to picket the high school in Kansas City this week because, it said, they ‘pimp tranny perversion’. However, students decided to hold their own counter-march and chased the group away from the school, forcing them to clamber into a getaway vehicle.
‘Long live the queen’ – watch the students run the Westboro members out of town:
Chanting ‘long live the queen’, students waved banners, posters, cheered and applauded as a local sheriff showed up on the scene to ensure the Westboro members managed to make a smooth and safe exit.
Speaking with the local public radio station, KCUR, one of the organisers of the counter-protest, Christina Palermo, described how the students’ actions should benefit the entire student community.
She added: “Landon is just their scapegoat. They’re attacking everyone in the LGBT community.”
Another protester, Becca Taylor, took to Facebook shortly after, saying she protested for all the school’s pupils from ‘this hate group who call themselves a church’.
She added: “They thought they could come to our school and tell our children something. Oh no, not today. I stood in the face of the devil herself, Shirley Phelps-Roper, and chanted, ‘Long live the queen!’ in support of Landon Patterson and listened as the crowd behind me followed.”
Westboro later took to Twitter to express their disappointment at the crowd’s reaction, warning the students of their impending fate and laying the blame with parents:
However, it seems clear which side remained victorious on the day. On the whole? Oak Park High: 1, Westboro Baptist Church: 0.
