FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – The Westboro Baptist Church made its scheduled appearance in Fresno on Monday and was met with the full force of Fresno’s LGBTQ+ community’s counter-protest.
Reedley officials prepare for upcoming protests at high school
The Westboro Baptist Church announced its members would travel to the Central Valley to “bring this gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Since the announcement, organizers in the valley from various groups condemned the church’s words, and many prepared for a counter-protest.
Shirley Phelps-Roper with the Westboro Baptist Church has been preaching their message for over 34 years across the United States and Roosevelt High School was chosen as a place to protest “because that is where students are taught to disobey.”
Counter-protesters gathered at Roosevelt High School over an hour before anyone from Westboro Baptist Church, holding signs, pride flags, and umbrellas to block any signs they deemed hateful.
As protesters from the church began to arrive, they were met with umbrellas in their faces blocking out their signs and Roosevelt students chanting phrases like, “love wins.”