Fred Phelps preaching from his pulpit in 2002.  , the founder of the vehemently anti-gay in , , died yesterday aged 84. The church he founded in 1955 became infamous for leading pickets at the funerals of  soldiers, as well as the funeral of  , a young  man killed in a attack in 1998. Other countries were not so keen: Fred Phelps and his daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper were banned from entering the  in order to take part in a planned protest against  , a play about the death of Matthew Shephard. The  stated the Phelpses were not welcome because of their actions "inciting hatred against a number of communities". The Church has seen a number of widely-reported defections including Megan Phelps-Roper, who used to run Westboro's social media operation before publicly leaving the congregation and publishing an apology on the Internet.
Fred Phelps preaching from his pulpit in 2002. Fred Phelps , the founder of the vehemently anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas , died yesterday aged 84. The church he founded in 1955 became infamous for leading pickets at the funerals of US soldiers, as well as the funeral of Matthew Shepard , a young gay man killed in a attack in 1998. Other countries were not so keen: Fred Phelps and his daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper were banned from entering the United Kingdom in order to take part in a planned protest against The Laramie Project , a play about the death of Matthew Shephard. The UK Border Agency stated the Phelpses were not welcome because of their actions "inciting hatred against a number of communities". The Church has seen a number of widely-reported defections including Megan Phelps-Roper, who used to run Westboro's social media operation before publicly leaving the congregation and publishing an apology on the Internet.
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Fred Phelps
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in
Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas
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,
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US
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Matthew Shepard
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gay
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United Kingdom
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The Laramie Project
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UK Border Agency