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Texas A&M Students & Alum Create Massive Human Wall to Block Westboro Protesters at Military Funeral

Jul. 6, 2012 11:04am Billy Hallowell

Westboro Protesters Reportedly Stopped by Human Wall at Military Funeral

Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale (Image Credit: Fox10TV.com)

Is the Westboro Baptist Church losing its edge? The controversial group, which calls itself a house of worship but is regarded by most as a small, family-led cult, originally planned to protest the funeral of Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale. But, the situation ended with a surprise — some might even say inspirational — conclusion.

Last week, Tisdale, a former Texas A&M University student, was killed by a fellow soldier at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Fox10TV.com has more about the incident that inevitably took his life:

Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale, a former Texas A&M University student, was buried in the Aggie Field of Honor, an area of a College Station cemetery for Aggies and their supporters.

Tisdale was fatally wounded on June 28 during a safety briefing near the unit’s headquarters in the historic district of Fort Bragg at about 3:30 p.m., according to Fort Bragg officials.

Accused of the shooting was Spc. Ricky G. Elder of Kansas, who shot Tisdale and another soldier, who survived. Elder then shot himself and later died.

A portion of the press release that was put out by Westboro Baptist Church

Despite the group’s press release exploiting Tisdale’s death and pledging to crash the memorial in College Station, Texas, the situation concluded with a very different outcome than was originally expected.

Another portion of the press release put out by the radical protesters

After news initially spread that the group, headed by ringleader Fred Phelps, was planning to protest and attend, former and current Texas A&M students took action. BuzzFeed has more about the counter-protest that they carried out against the Phelps family:

A fellow “Aggie”, Ryan Slezia, came up with a plan to create a human wall to block any protesters from getting near the funeral, and invited fellow Texas A&M students and alum to join. One participant tweeted that over 650 people showed up in maroon shirts to create a “maroon wall”.

Now, here’s the kicker and the “different” outcome: To the surprise of Tisdale’s family members, friends and others who had organized a massive counter-protest, the radicals failed to show up. That’s right — Westboro adherents were reportedly nowhere to be found.

Did the counter-protesters scare them away? It’s entirely possible.

A picture from the counter-protest (Image Credit: BuzzFeed)

Radio host Joe Pags spoke with Tisdale’s life-long friend Shawn Dixon about the fallen soldier and the plan that was launched to stop Westboro from ruining his funeral (the event is not listed on Westboro’s picket schedule page).

Listen to the interview, below:

There’s nothing new about Westboro going after soldiers and military families. In fact, the radical group’s bizarre protests against these fallen men and women resulted in a 2011 Supreme Court ruling in their favor (the justices ruled 8-1 that their actions are protected by the First Amendment).

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Comments (167)

lynda1276
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 1:43pm
Good job, Texas!

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jon s. Davidson
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 1:39pm
These freaks trying to claim that they are a Church is maddening. They are of the Church of Satan. They are Satanist’s trying to give Christians a bad name.

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Delicaterose65
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 1:36pm
There is some COURAGE and here I was thinking it was LOST!! Thanks Kids you may teach some FOOLS how to STAND with COURAGE AND HONOR!! <3 God Bless you ALL!! <3 I wonder what would happen if we had a "plant" in the church and when they have a death……..he-he-he!! Just a lil of their own medicine!!

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DenisWTexas
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 1:35pm
Welcome to Texas, cowards. This is how we roll here. Same thing happened when Quannel X and Farrakhan tried to pull their crap after Joe Horn shot two burglars in Pasadena, TX.

We stand by our neighbors. We don’t take kindly to liberal terrorism. We don’t take kindly to people disrespecting our honored dead.

And we don’t ever back away from a fight when righteousness is on the table. Peroid.

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G-WHIZ
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 1:32pm
We should be infront of their church screeming and yelling an cursing until their service is over, and untill everyone has finally left for home. Do this every single sunday, and when they have funerals, follow them and screem at them durring their service. If they complain screem 1st-amendment-rights!!!! Suddenly these progs will dissapear from the news back in their stink-hole whenst they came!!

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Ave-Crux-Spes-Unica
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 1:25pm
Gig ‘Em Aggies!

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myway
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:57pm
OUTSTANDING! They did the right thing. Semper Fi

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cemerius
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:53pm
Finally!! A story of success for the good people in America!!

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dianarod
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:52pm
I am so proud to live in College Station where so many fine Aggie students, alums, and even a few Texas Longhorns stood out in the hot sun (temps 97 plus) to provide this barrier for possible protestors. One restaurant here even put a sign on their door “No Hillsboro Baptist Church people welcome here.” University Avenue was lined with people honoring this fine man.

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Marximus65
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:38pm
Another proud moment for the Aggie family. God Bless America, and God bless the Fightin’ Texas Aggies.
Gig ‘em.
Mark Meil, Class of ’02

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fort9erdon
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:33pm
8 to 1, the SCOTUS ruled in favor of WBC? i’ll lay you 8 to 1 odds that the next time WBC, shows up at a military funeral, and “discombobulates” that funeral, someone in the crowd will force the Rev. Phelps to assume room temperature! Bring it on Rev!

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Minarchian
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:32pm
What’s funny about Westboro Baptist Church is that they have done more to solidify support for gays then all the advertisements and rallies the gays have been doing for themselves for years.

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Annette Burns
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:31pm
On August 5, 2005, we had our first encounter with westboro baptist church. That was the funeral of my son-in-law, Spc. Edward Lee Myers. We were warned by our Army Casualty Adviser, the funeral director, city and county officers, about the protesters. Our Church is in the county and westboro lined up in the ditch across the road from the church’s front door. The Patriot Guard stood shoulder-to-shoulder, holding American flags in front of the church. Westboro shirley was in the ditch with her bullhorn spewing out hate, as we were trying to exercise OUR First Amendment rights of religion. Where in the Constitution does it say that one group gets to use their ‘rights’ to trump another group’s rights??? We did not hamper westboro’s ‘rights’ in any way, but they stomped all over our rights to”peaceably assemble”. The funeral was painful enough for his young wife and children ( 5 years old and 9 month old ). He was called to duty in Iraq for the second time when his new-born daughter was only 2 months old. Instead of a scrapbook filled with only good memories of her father, she has a scrapbook with some very awful news articles about his funeral. May God remember the horrible things that westboro baptist church has done to these children. I only hope to live long enough to teach them that these people shouldn’t be hated, but should be pitied for their hateful twisting of the teachings of the Bible.

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WiseLibertarian
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:31pm
The cult down in College Station, TAMU Aggies, organize to prevent the rights, guaranteed under the Texas Constitution, of another “cult” to represent their beliefs. Irony perhaps?

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- Altair
  Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:39pm
  Texas A & M has a history going back to the 1800s of being the VMI or West Point of Texas, and of giving its sons in combat on the altar of freedom ever since then.
  
  If manliness and patriotism are “cults” in your estimation, you are a disgusting caricature of a human being.
  
  Report this comment
- Geoso
  Posted on July 6, 2012 at 7:52pm
  Westboro stretches the defintion of “peaceful assembly” and, while their speech may be political and the state constitutionally barred from stopping it, the people always have the right to peacefully assemble in counter protest. The right to free speech does not carry a right to be heard.
  
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Daveed
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:24pm
True story, I went to a Physical Therapy center and it was owned by LDS church goer. I had a PT who was a member. He made a statement that Baptists were against LDS. I did not comment as I was raised in the Baptist Church and never ever heard in my life anything against LDS. In adult years I have had wonderful encounters with LDS’s. What does my post mean? I don’t know it was just something that happened around 5 years ago.

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Lawrence7
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:17pm
Thank you, Blaze, for posting the Westboro messages in your report here and furthering Phelp’s initiative in generating free advertising for his message.

Whatever the Aggies achieved in stopping the Phelps message, you here at Blaze have successfully achieved for Phelps what he was unable to achieve there.

Sigh, when are you going to learn that Phelp’s entire mission in this is to garner free advertising for his message through all these crazy threats and antics?

Not to editors/authors of this report. Remove the Phelp’s message block and stop being used as just another tool of Phelp’s schemes.

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lizaz
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:15pm
Good for those kids…they stood up to the slime-bag morons who should really move to some other country like Iran or North Korea. We don’t need their ilk here!!!

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zoro51
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:08pm
westboro is another man made CULT not to worry on the last day they will be thrown into hell them selves… pay NO attention to them . move along,…

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LeadNotFollow
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:08pm
…
The press release above, has the name of Central Baptist Church, not Westboro Baptist Church on it. That could explain why Westboro did not show up, and why the event was not listed on Westboro’s picket schedule page.

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piper60
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:02pm
WE need to do this for every military funeral. Put these bozos out of business. They are NOT CHristians.

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PaxInVeritate
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 12:01pm
Indeed, job well done Aggies!!

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saved4ever
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 11:58am
I am a fundamental Baptist. What Westboro Church preaches is blasphemy. God will deal with them in His own time. He does not have to destroy the. He will sit back and allow them to destroy themselves. This cult should take the name “Baptist” off their marquee!

“As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:9

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Daveed
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 11:58am
The Westboro Church has got to be faux church and being used as Propaganda to gin up the Progressive minions. Baptists are an awesome denomination and beautiful people. They are horrified by this Church masquerading as one of thiers. Does Westboro belong to the National Baptist Association, who would oversee all the churches in that denomination, or is a nutty rogue church, and no one (Blaze included )has bothered to research it’s origins? Truth or the lack of research should have no Agenda.
What they say is a lie, it is disrespectful and dishonoring God. God loves us when we were yet sinners, sent Christ to redeem us, as He is a just God. Then we give him the authority through Christ to do a mighty work in us. Christ changes us from the inside out. Man can not do that, they can not hang the moon and the stars and make something appear out of nothing. God Bless the students at Texas A&M and all the people who came. God Bless our fallen soldiers and their families. We love you always and forever.

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South Philly Boy
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 11:51am
Excellent

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frogg
Posted on July 6, 2012 at 11:50am
I just want to thank all the good people that did this! Our Military need all the respect they can get and I detest these dummys that want to show illwill to our men and women with all of my heart!!!!

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