Westboro Baptist Church “Protest” Falls Flat

Westboro Baptist Church, the notorious anti-LGBTQ+ group, planned to stage a protest at Owasso Public Schools, the district where 16-year-old nonbinary teen Nex Benedict died last month. Thankfully, their attempt at hate fell short as supporters of Nex and his family gathered en masse.

At one point, Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) was one of the biggest anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups in the United States. They are notorious for attending pride events, drag queen story hours, and more wielding their “God Hates F*gs” signs and preaching religious fanaticism. However, they’ve been slowly losing membership and visibility over the past decade. In 2016, WBC was estimated to have only around 70 members.

Last week, WBC announced plans to stage a protest outside of Owasso High School, where Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old nonbinary student of Choctaw descent, was assaulted just a month ago. Nex died not long after he was attacked, and while his parents suspect that the school district did not properly care for him or prevent the bullying that lead to his demise, the school denies any such shortcomings. Westboro Baptist Church claims that Nex’s family was responsible for his untimely attack and death, rather than the Owasso Public School District. They released a statement claiming that Nex “(stirred) up a hornet’s nest, purposefully fighting with other girls at the school, committing criminal acts in the process, and (got) the trouble (he) went looking for.”

Thankfully, their protests did not come to any fruition. Dr. Margaret Coates, superintendent of Owasso Public Schools, promised ahead of time that WBC members would not be allowed on district property. When the day for the protest finally came, only six members actually showed up —and what’s more, they were met by more than 400 people in support of Nex’s family. The nonprofit Parasol Patrol sent allies armed with rainbow-colored umbrellas to block the hate group’s signs from view, and Westboro members only ended up “protesting” for around an hour before leaving, dejected.

Eli Bazan, director of Parasol Patrol, shares, “To be that peaceful barrier in-between hate and these kids. Owasso Oklahoma has been through enough, and the last thing they need right now is Westboro coming out here and preaching their hate.”

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