Original sentence: Members of Fred Phelps'  anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church protested at the 2005 graduation ceremony against Brookline High's strong tolerance of homosexuality.Surrounded and barricaded by police and deans of Brookline High, the 'silent, not violent' counter-protest (organized by the school's GSA) took place with no altercations between the two groups
Edited sentence: Despite Fred Phelps' absence, his followers came out in full force holding signs and shouting anti-gay remarks.Members of Fred Phelps' notoriously anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church protested at the 2005 graduation against Brookline High's strong tolerance of homosexuality.Surrounded and barricaded by police and deans of Brookline High, the 'silent, not violent' counter-protest (spearheaded by the school's GSA) proved successful, with no altercations between the two groups