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Police say the Rev . Fred Phelps was not the intended target
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by Lisa Marie Neff
ays after an explosion rocked a home
at the Phelps compound in west To
peka, Kan., police discounted the idea
that the bomb was targeted at the
Rev. Fred Phelps Sr., his church or
D
his family.
But Phelps— notorious here and across the
country for his pickets against gay men, lesbians
and people living with AIDS— continues to say
the bomb was a threat against him and his work
through the Westboro Baptist Church.
The explosion occurred at about 11:30 pm on
Aug. 20. A plastics bomb ex
ploded between a stockade
fence and a van parked in the
driveway of the home of Shirley
Phelps-R oper, the pasto r’s
daughter. W hile no injuries
were reported, the van and fence
were damaged.
Police said they believe the
explosion was not targeted at
Phelps because they confirmed
a second explosion in west To
peka that night and received
reports of a third.
Before police discounted
Phelps’ theory and claim that
he was the victim of a “pro
hom osexual” attack, Phelps Fred Phelps
speculated that local law enforcement would con
clude that he was not the intended target. He said
Topeka police, fire officials and prosecutors are
“pro-homosexual” and the local media is “pro
homosexual” and they would fail to fully investi
gate the incident.
In a statement to Topeka Police Chief Gerald
Beavers, Phelps said, “Crimes committed against
us apparently go uninvestigated while your cor
rupt officers drive around with anti-Phelps signs
on their cars and plot the filing of lying reports
exonerating criminals and implicating innocent
church members.”
On Aug. 22, Phelps called on the U.S. Justice
Department to investigate the explosion. At press
time, the Justice Department had not responded to
Phelps’ request.
Phelps also offered a $5,000 reward for infor
mation leading to an arrest and conviction in the
incident.
Some Topeka residents said they believe Phelps
was the target of the explosion. Others believe the
explosion was the result of youth pranks, and
some think that Phelps or a follower set off the
bomb. Nearly all residents interviewed by this
reporter said Phelps had too many enemies for
him to blame a single person or group for the
incident.
Although Phelps calls his work against lesbi
ans and gay men a crusade,
others have described his pick
ets as cruel and his words as
hateful and bigoted.
The recent “Phelps trials,”
a series of seven proceedings
against Phelps and several of
his relatives and church mem
bers for actions at homophobic
demonstrations last winter,
resulted in an exorbitant bill
for taxpayers, the possibility
of a lawsuit filed by Phelps,
and only two convictions—
Phelps and his son Benjamin
C. Phelps.
Phelps was acquitted on
the charges of misdemeanor
assault and battery but convicted on two disor
derly conduct charges. Several of the trials ended
with acquittals and others with deadlocked juries.
Responding to the pastor’s claim that the ex
plosion was set by a “pro-homosexual,” National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force spokeswoman Robin
Kane said Phelps should be challenged for “ac
cusing without reason or evidence.”
Kane also said Phelps— with his cruel demon
strations at the funerals of people who have died
of AIDS-related complications and protests at
public speaker’s forums and gay and lesbian
events— creates an atmosphere of violence. “He
should be very careful in saying who caused this
act,” Kane said. “He’s making wild specula
tions.”
Strange bedfellows II:
Colin Powell
Colin Powell, the retired general and possible
presidential candidate, has been blasted for want
ing “to deny gays the same equal rights that
enabled him to succeed.”
Sen. Alfonse D ’Amato (R-N.Y.) argued that
Powell was applying a double standard in his
support of the ban on lesbians and gay men openly
serving in the military. The comment came in an
interview with the conservative newspaper The
Washington Times.
“He was a young black second lieutenant who
had not attended West Point and yet rose through
the ranks to become head of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff,” D’Amato said. “I thought he would have
had a certain sensitivity and say, ‘We judge people
on the basis of their ability.’ ”
This follows closely on the heels of D’ Amato’s
book Power, Pasta, and Politics: The World
According to Senator Al D ’Amato, where he
wrote: “I wonder whether Colin Powell has either
Portland,
Colin Powell
the courage or the
convictions needed
to lead the country.”
Some observers
have suggested the
senator’s comments
are motivated by his
su p p o rt o f Sen.
Robert Dole’s quest
for the Republican
presidential nomi
nation and a desire
to undercut any pos
sible competitor.
However,
D’Amato’s remarks were consistent with what he
has said earlier. The senator surprised and dis
mayed many conservatives with his strong com
ments opposing the ban on gay men and lesbians
in the military, which he made in February 1993,
in the opening weeks of that debate.
Bob Roehr
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