Westboro Baptist Church Reportedly Planning To Protest Chicago Pride Fest

By Jon Graef in News on May 25, 2014 7:00PM

According to Chicago Pride, the notorious Westboro Baptist Church is reportedly planning to protest Chicago Pride Fest next month. The church, known for its vocal, homophobic protests of funerals, tweeted that "Westboro Baptist Church to picket @PrideFestChi! #SoExcited" in response to another Tweet linking to an article about Jennifer Hudson and Glee's Alex Newell performing at Pride Fest.

Upsetting as the news may be, there's reason to believe the protest may fail to materialize. To wit:

The Phelps' clan has a history of failed protests in Chicago.

In 2008, an attempt by Westboro Baptist Church to protest outside the Center on Halsted, Chicago's LGBT community center, was halted when more than 100 people outnumbered the 5 church members and effectively blocked their anti-gay message.

Last year, Westboro Baptist Church made bold claims that church members would picket Roger Ebert's funeral in April and the Chicago Bulls playoff game in May. In both instances, Westboro Baptist Church failed to show.

Still, this planned protest should help Westboro's image lots.

Chicago Pride Fest takes place June 21-22.