The FBI recently released an extensive 250-page bureau file on Fred Phelps, the former leader of the controversial anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church. He died last year at age 84.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation released the records in a Freedom of Information Act request by The Hill, which first reported on the findings Wednesday.
The records detail a mix of threats against Phelps, who was labeled by the FBI as a “radical extremist” and “zealot,” and several investigations into him and his church, the Huffington Post said.
Phelps and his church won a Supreme Court case that allowed them the right to protest at funerals, even though their anti-gay placards were considered by many as over-the-top and offensive.
The FBI was never able to prosecute him for his protests.
“Phelps is a disbarred attorney himself and keenly aware of what his rights and limitations are from a legal standpoint,” the FBI wrote in one document, The Hill reported. “He and his followers carry a video camera with them to film those who attempt to stop them from demonstrating.”
Some information in the records are redacted. To read the released FBI file, click here.
• Maria Stainer can be reached at mstainer@washingtontimes.com.
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