Repeat Offender?

If at first.....

If you're done serving a bid in the iron college and happen to be released after 15, what do you do?

I guess if you're the foolish Christopher Miller, you go back to the same store and rob it again.

In the stupid files, Christopher Miller is currently in Ocean County lockup for robbing a Stride Ride store that he apparently robbed almost a decade ago.

Police say he became a free man on Friday and celebrated by catching a bus to Toms River and, yes, robbing the same Stride Rite shoe store, reports the Star-Ledger. Though he had 15 years to stew over what went wrong the first time, authorities say this robbery didn't go so well, either. Two employees were so slow in handing over cash that the "agitated" robber grabbed the register drawer himself and fled on foot, reports the Ocean County Signal. (The employees refused to hand over their keys, scotching any hopes for a getaway vehicle.)

Miller took cellphones belonging to a 17-year-old boy and a 43-year-old woman before fleeing on foot.

"He was not armed but just made a verbal threat," police spokesman Ralph Stocco said. He said that Miller became agitated when the employees did not move as quickly as he liked.

They called the cops—the apparent plan was to tie them up in a storage room, as happened in the 1999 robbery, but the employees refused to go—and within minutes, a police K-9 unit tracked down Williams and recovered the stolen $389, reports the Daily Record. Miller is charged with robbery and is being held on $100,000 bond. The 40-year-old is from Tulsa, Okla., and police aren't sure what his connection is to Toms River, besides maybe nostalgia.

According to state Department of Corrections records and news accounts from the time, Miller was living in Toms River when he was convicted for theft in 1997.

Incarcerated at the Stokes Unit of the Mountainview Youth Correctional Facility in Montague, he escaped from a work detail in June of that year. He was apprehended a few days later to serve out that term.

Man Blames Mental Illness For His Racist Fatal Attack On A Chicago Father!

Joesph Firek is being charged with murder. He's also being charge by motivated felonious assault by hate.

A father died a hero trying to save his daughter from some crazed racist. This racist would beat down the father multiple times killing him. Now this man is blaming an "abusive" family as the reasons to why he's a cold blooded killer.

No amount of mental illness would merit for this jerk to kill an innocent human being.

The father is former boxer. He was trying his best to deescalate the problem as best as possible.

This attacker wanted nothing to do with it.

The New York Daily News and Chicago Tribune report that Michael Tingling, 59, had a pacemaker in his chest and died minutes after the vicious attack while his alleged attacker, Joseph Firek, 59, was charged with committing a hate crime and murder.

Michael Tingling was known to neighbors as the guy with a big heart. He would walk his only daughter to school almost everyday. The young girl would now be without a father. A man who punched her father is held in Cook County lockup.

"My dad was a very loving and devoted dad," Tingling’s only child, daughter Masharah, told the Chicago Tribune. "He was never the kind of person who bothered anyone. He loved giving."

The devout father had just picked up his daughter from school to take her to a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday when the duo decided to stop off and grab a doughnut, according to the Tribune.

That’s when they brushed past Firek, who leered at the teen and made inappropriate gestures.

Tingling ordered the man, who is white, to back down as he shielded Masharah from his stares. Firek began throwing punches and calling the black family “n-----s” and telling them to “go back to Africa,” DNAinfo reported.

Masharah was the rock to Michael Tingling's heart. She is totally devastated by the lost of her father. 

"My dad — being a boxer and having the temperament that he has — he wasn't going to just let that fly," Masharah told the news site of her father, a native of Belize. "He pushed the guy back, and [the guy] punched him directly in his chest. My dad has a pacemaker in his chest."

Tingling later collapsed and complained he wasn’t feeling well while Firek, who followed the duo after the fight, expressed some measure of remorse, saying “I hope he’s OK. I hope he didn’t kill him.”

The Rogers Park man died about 45 minutes of heart disease and from stress due to an altercation, according to the Cook County coroner.

Firek appeared to be drunk when arrested, police said, and was on parole after being released from prison in January. He had a string of arrests, many related to home break-ins, dating back to 1996.

Firek, who his attorney says has a psychiatric illness, is held in custody in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Meanwhile, friends, neighbors and family members remembered the big-hearted Tingling, whom they now need to bury.

The devoted, doting father would walk Masharah, described as his best friend, to school each day and pick her up. She’s scheduled to finish eighth grade this spring.

We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to the family of Michael Tingling.

No, No, No, Judge Joe Brown!

Washed up isn't the only thing keeping Judge Joe down.

Shelby County lockup got the former TV judge for acting a fool while trial was in session.

In March 2014, Brown was arrested in Memphis, Tennessee and charged with five counts of contempt of court and getting "verbally abusive" during a child support case. He was sentenced to five days in jail, but was later released on his own recognizance.

In an interview with ABC News, Brown said that his arrest Monday, which he claimed never should have happened, has "reenergized" him, especially in his run for Shelby County D.A.

"I always used to be a hot shot about protecting people's rights," he said. "I was not happy to have my liberty detained even for 30 seconds. That's precious. It's not about the conditions of incarceration, it's about the loss of liberty."

Brown, 67, explained that the situation was "weird" because initially, he was just at the juvenile court to see how it was operating, as he's done with other courts in the area. However, when a woman approached him and asked him to take a look at her child support case, he said he felt obliged, due to a pledge he'd made to "protect womanhood and promote manhood."

"Then I almost felt nauseated looking at it," he said, adding that he believed the case never should have gone forward. "When I insisted that the woman's charges be dismissed. He started talking about, I'm not an attorney so-and-so. ... I said, 'You know it's wrong. ... You're better than this.'"


ABC US News | ABC Business News

Euro Paper Throws The Monkey At The Obamas!

Sad.

The racist right is over in Europe. I understand the president's popularity over in Europe isn't a good as it was in 2009, but however they really had to keep this nonsense to a minimum. 

The Huffington Post reports that a Belgian newspaper is under fire for an image it printed showing President Barack Obama and the First Lady as apes.

The progressive newspaper De Morgen is being accused of racism for the image along with an article it published just prior to Obama's visit to the Netherlands Monday morning.

The image clearly depicts the couple as two apes-- an editorial decision that has been slammed as "stale racist drivel."

The article was reportedly a satirical piece that also joked about Obama selling marijuana. The newspaper packaged the photos as if they had been submitted by Russian president Vladimir Putin, Metro said Sunday.

The picture was joined by a message reading, “Vladimir Putin is the president of Russia. He sent us this attachment at our request, and chose to send pictures instead of text 'because he doesn't have a lot of time',” the Independent said.

While the article has many readers outraged, there are also readers who have come to the newspapers defense. "It was a joke," one Reddit user said.

"In their defense, there are tons upon tons of pictures and t-shirts with Bush drawn as an ape," another user wrote.

@usembbrussels Today's De Morgen (a Belgian paper) has this photo of POTUS and Michelle as apes: pic.twitter.com/aAF2UAORgB
— chika unigwe (@chikaunigwe) March 22, 2014

@IjeomaOgud @demorgen it says "Putin was asked to write an article on Obama. Due to time constraints he sent these pictures" #notfunny
— chika unigwe (@chikaunigwe) March 22, 2014

De Morgen apologizes but Van Springel (the satirist) thinks that satire ought not to offend. He is shocked by the outrage #DeMorgen, #Obama
— chika unigwe (@chikaunigwe) March 24, 2014

De Morgen apologized for the image in its Monday edition, admitting it was guilty of "bad taste."

"When you consider the fragment apart from its context, which is a properly worked out satirical section, then you don't see the joke but just a picture evoking sheer racism," the newspaper said. "We wrongly assumed that racism is no longer accepted, and that in this way it could be the subject of a joke."

Unigwe, who lives in Belgium, went on to tweet in depth about the controversial spread, noting that the fault lies with Belgian society moreso than De Morge.

A Real Love Sacrifice: Teen Killed By Train Saving Girlfriend!

Mateus Moore and his girlfriend Mickayla Friend were hit by a train. Mateus would push his girlfriend out of the way of the train. He would pay the ultimate sacrifice for his actions.

I understand that it's considered an easier way to get through the streets. It's so interesting to see where a train goes. It's kinda of cool that a train passes through a tunnel or over a bridge.

But why on earth would young teens continue to walk on railroad tracks?

It is extremely dangerous for anyone to walk on railroad tracks. No matter what the situation, a train can come and you wouldn't even know it. Many people paid the price for trespassing on the tracks.

It's a class A misdemeanor for anyone caught on the railroad tracks. The individual could be arrested for trespassing or impeding on the right-of-way of transit.

It's a CLASS THREE FELONY if you're caught putting something on the tracks to derail or impede on the transit of a train. You can go to the iron college if you put something on the tracks and cause a train to derail.

If you're stuck on the tracks call the police or the rail company to inform the operator of the train.

A train can't stop like a car and semi-truck. It could take up to a full mile to come to a complete stop.

California teen paid the ultimate price. He died a hero trying to save his girlfriend.

They were walking on the tracks in Maysville. They were heading to a school dance when they hear a train was approaching. Upon the impact of a train, the teen Mateus Moore pushed his girlfriend, Mickayla Friend out of the way. He was hit and immediately killed.

Friend barely survived. She is in the local hospital in critical condition.


The train hit them both, but Mateus died, while Mickayla is alive in the ICU. Despite Mickayla's serious injuries, her mom says the 16-year-old told her, "I remember Mateus turning and looking back. I remember him pushing me out of the way of the train." A witness says he saw the same thing: "They would have both been underneath that train if he didn't push her out of the way at the last second." Mateus' dad says he's proud of his son.

Eric Stark, an 11-year-old who was at the nearby Little League field when the impact occurred, said Moore pushed Friend out of the way at the last second.

"I heard the train, and it was honking a lot, and it didn't stop honking," Stark told News 10. "Right when they turned around, it was too late, and then the guy, he pushed the girl out of the way, but she still got hit by the train. And it sucked him in sort of and ran him over."

Stark's father, Shawn Stark, also saw the incident and believes that Moore's actions saved the girl. "They would have both been underneath that train if he didn't push her out of the way at the last second," he told KCRA.

Family devastated. How could their teens choose to walk the tracks instead of the streets.

The girl's family says Moore was "amazing."

"He loved her more than anyone," Friend's sister, Alithya Friend, told News 10.

Officials say the train's emergency brake system was initiated, but the train was unable to stop in time. Officials also say there is no evidence that either teen was intoxicated or wearing headphones.

Earlier this month a teen was killed after she tried to retrieve her iPhone off the tracks and misjudged the train's impact. Jenna Betti was killed when she and her boyfriend were walking on active tracks.

She would at first avoid the train but she dropped her phone. She got caught off guard by the train's speed and was hit on impact.

We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to the families Mateus Moore and Jenna Betti.

We also send our prayers to the family of Mickayla Friend.

Texas Town: Please Disinvite Yourself Ted!

The Motor City Madman isn't getting the Texan longhorn treatment.

Controversial rocker Ted Nugent got served yet again. He's too embarrassing for a Texas town.

The city of Longview, Texas is not interested in the conservative agitator performing at their Fourth Of July event this year. They even paid him over $16,000 to keep him as far away from this event.

The city had reached a verbal agreement with Nugent, scheduling the rocker as the headliner who would play inside the Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Center during the town's Independence Day celebration. To break that agreement, the town paid Nugent half of his guaranteed performance fee of $32,000 from Maude Cobb's annual budget.

The move comes amid criticism of comments Nugent made about President Barack Obama in January 2014, calling him a "subhuman mongrel." Nugent, who campaigned with Texas Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott amid the controversy, apologized for those comments in February.

Abbott said he was moving on from the controversy over Nugent in late February, but his ties to the rocker remain a prominent talking point of both sides of the governor's race. Abbott's rival, Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D), called the Attorney General's embrace of Nugent an "insult," while former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin (R) cited the rocker in her endorsement of Abbott.

"If he is good enough for Ted Nugent, he is good enough for me!" Palin wrote on her Facebook page.

The situation with Longview is not unique. Nugent was removed from a concert lineup at a prominent military base in 2012 after saying he would be "dead or in jail by this time next year" if Obama were re-elected that year.

Nate Silver: Smile Republicans!

The famed statistician and sports commentator calls the Midterms for the Republicans.

The famed stats man got the goods on the U.S. Midterms. He strongly believes that the Republican Party despite it's hateful and yet unaccomplished agenda will have a chance to take full control of the Congress.

With that being said, it's possible that the Southern Democrats in the House and Senate are doomed or at least in danger of being doomed.

Silver, who just launched his own site, FiveThirtyEight, under the ESPN banner, spoke to ABC’s Jon Karl in a segment on This Week With George Stephanopoulos Sunday morning. There he said his best prediction saw the GOP taking six seats, the exact number they’d need to have a one-vote majority. However, that prediction was +/- five seats, meaning the Senate could relatively unchanged, or the GOP could win big in November.

So do you believe the Republicans have a chance to win despite being a totally useless party?

After all Silver did call the election for President Barack Obama long before he got through the first debates.

Right Wing Alert: Sally Kern Equates Disagreeing With Her With 'Stoning' God

Sally Kern Equates Disagreeing With Her With 'Stoning' God

                                            Sally Kern, Oklahoma's right wing's favorite Daughter.

Here are several of her right-wing fanaticism at the Oklahoma legislature.  Here's a video wanting the OK Legislature to protect students creating imaginary weapons, guns included:




All of this proves to me is that Oklahoma needs to enter the 21st century, not back to the Dark Ages or Jim Crow!

At least the good people of North Carolina rose up to protest the right-wing Dark Ages policies of Gov. Pat McCrory.  The Tar Heels ain't having any of that nonsense! They will not go back to the days of Jessie Helms.  No way!

How come the people of Oklahoma aren't protesting against Governor Mary Fallin, Rep. Sally Kern, RamZPaul, Sen. Inhofe, etc.?  When are they going to get a comeuppance?


Georgia, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Alabama had their Moral Mondays.  Why not Oklahoma?  Why not my home state, Ohio?  We, too, have a governor that is just as repressive as Fallin and McCrory.  

What are your thoughts?

White House: Drudge Telling Lies!

No agitation without an approval.

The White House fires back at the conservative agitator for promoting a phony story.

That Guy Who Throws Shit On The Wall has an official Twitter page where he actually goes online to vent about the latest things going through his reclusive life.

Just paid the Obamacare penalty for not 'getting covered'... I'M CALLING IT A LIBERTY TAX!
— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) March 21, 2014

The White House communication director Jesse Lee responds back in a way that agitates the conservatives.

Flat lie, no fee for previous year. Scary how much influence he once had. RT @DRUDGE: Just paid Obamacare penalty for not 'getting covered'
— Jesse Lee (@jesseclee44) March 21, 2014

Of course, he's now waiting on the first death threat that comes down. Because of course, he's a government official and threatening anyone who works for the president is a THREE DEGREE FELONY.

Because you're not allowed to threaten government officials.

Of course the conservative agitator loves the drama because later that day, he tweeted:

Obama media teams know they will not get audited for avoiding taxes. I don't have this luxury. So they mock, ridicule http://t.co/Cg23N734R9
— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) March 21, 2014

Politifact which check pundits and government officials made a call on this little spat.

Pundifact is a website that focuses solely on misinformation from those in the media. They said that the website threw a wrench in the daily ritual of the White House press briefing. That’s when reporters pepper White House spokesman Jay Carney with questions. That Guy gave top billing to an item in the Weekly Standard, posted by online editor Daniel Halper.

In Halper’s article, the headline said it all: "Reporter: WH press secretary gets questions from reporters before press briefing: It’s just a show."

Halper didn’t write too much more. Mainly, he inserted a video of a reporter from an Arizona CBS affiliate talking about what she learned on her visit to the White House.

The reporter, Catherine Anaya, said Carney told her that the questions correspondents ask "are provided to him in advance. So then he knows what he's going to be answering and sometimes those correspondents and reporters also have those answers printed in front of them."

They said That Guy Who Throws Shit To The Wall gave top billing to the claim that the daily White House press briefings are "just a show," with questions submitted and answered in advance.

That claim relied on the report of a television anchor in Arizona. But the website did all it could to make the statement go viral. Accountability applies as much to spreading information, especially for a website as popular as the website, as it does to the journalist who wrote the article.

The reporter behind Halper’s article now says she made a mistake and really doesn’t know what happens in the briefings. She was considering asking a question about a local issue and wanted to know if it would be appropriate to ask at the regular press briefing. She opted to save the question for her interview with Obama.

According to Carney and the reporters whom he faces daily, this scenario in no way matches up with their experiences.

Halper took a shaky report and drew a strong conclusion without proof. That Guy Who Throws Shit To The Wall put that claim on steroids. We rate this statement Pants on Fire.

So the racist right's favorite son can't tell the truth?

Ain't this ironic.

Mom Gave Tot A Lil' Drank Got Locked Up!

MTV won't give this teen mom a show. The teen and her few years older aunt gave a little toddler a few shots and may face time in the iron college for this reckless decision.

Mom of the year got her child drunk.

When will you learn not to put the drank in the sippy cup?

The child's mother, 17-year-old Shadreon Jefferson, and the victim's aunt, 24-year-old Shamara Batiste, were both charged with felony child endangerment, according to ABC 13.

The little girl, only 1 year old, was rushed to a Houston hospital on Feb. 8 after she was dropped off at her father's home. The father called authorities when he noticed the girl's eyes rolling into the back of her head, according to court documents. When authorities arrived, they said she was unresponsive, moaning and vomiting.

At the hospital, doctors said the child had a blood alcohol content of 0.268, more than three times the legal limit for adults, according to KHOU. The child suffered acute alcohol poisoning.

A motive for the crime wasn't immediately clear.

While Jefferson was sleeping, Batiste allegedly gave the child a vodka mixer. According to a criminal complaint, Batiste admitted that the baby drank about six shots of vodka before falling asleep. The child was apparently swaying and smelled of alcohol at the hospital.

On Wednesday, State District Judge Ryan Patrick signed a protective order keeping the women from the child after Jefferson was arraigned, the Houston Chronicle reported.

“I see them every day and the baby is good, know what I’m saying?" neighbor Dante Montgomery told KHOU. "Taken care of, they always feed and take care of them. If they did give [her] vodka, they deserve the punishment they’re getting, but like I say, I can’t believe that they did it."

The child is now in the care of her maternal grandmother after spending four days in the hospital.

Jefferson is free on a $10,000 bail, but authorities are still seeking out Batiste.

Obama: [At Least] I Wasn't Punked On TV Like Bill O'Reilly!

O'Loofus gets his facts wrong as usual.

The Loserville agitator would slam President Barack Obama for making a last ditch effort to promote the American Care Act. He would compare this event to the 19th Century president Abraham Lincoln.

Well the president decided to aim a 3-point shot at the conservative agiator.

O'Loofus (aka Bill O'Reilly) is the number one news agitator. His show The O'Loofus Factor, is the prime time king in ratings. That along with Undermine Report with Bret Beier are the only outlets President Barack Obama gone to during his ongoing war with Loserville.

The arm chair generals are pissed that Russian Federation president Vladimir Putin took control of Ukraine's Crimea, a former state that became an independent autonomy under Russian control.

The racist right and their allies believe that the world is coming to an end because the president is cutting back on military forces. After a long wary war in Afghanistan, we're closing it out with all the troops coming home.

Obama believes Loserville is the communication arm of the Republican Party.

The neo-con racists are doing the fives (what, who, why, where and how). They want the president to do more than impose sanctions on Russia. They want the president to do something other than go on Between Two Ferns.

They were pissed that the president went to a mock interview with actor Zach Galifianakis to plug the ACA.

O'Loofus struck hard on the president by saying "....for a president under intense scrutiny they do a comedy show raises some questions. First of all, I don't really have a problem with it in general but I think the timing hurts Mr. Obama, the timing continues to be problematic and Putin is clearly testing the President.

It looks like Putin believes the President is a light weight with a comedy video counter that? I'm just asking. Here's the most important thing the Affordable Healthcare Act is dubious to say the least. And using a comedic Web site to enroll people is a little bit desperate, don't you think? I mean I'm all for PR and if Carney wanted to go on Funny Or Die, fine but the President of the United States?

All I can tell is you Abe Lincoln would not have done it. There comes a point when serious times call for serious action. We're a divided nation which Talking Points believes is in decline. Mr. Obama is quick, has a good sense of humor. Those are assets.

Stephen Colbert punks Loserville quite often.

But he needs to be aware. He needs to be aware of how his enemies perceive him because I believe the testing of America is just getting started."

O'Loofus believes that the interview was demeaning and an embarrassment to the office.

President Barack Obama responds back to the criticism.

"First of all, if you read back on Lincoln, he loved telling the occasional bawdy joke, and, you know, being out among regular folks."



_________________________________

The Colbert Report
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Anti-Gay Bigot Fred Phelps Passes Away!

One more right wing extremist bites the dust.

That doesn't stop the Westboro Baptist Church from protesting at funerals of those in the LGBT community, suicidal teens and military officers who died in battle.

Although they've lost a leader, a father and social conservative, the anti-gay Phelps family will at least get a moment of clarity.

In his 84 years, Fred Phelps and his family have protested the funerals of what they've called an all out war against traditional marriage. They believe the "gay agenda" has ruined America.

So the Phelps family would congregate upon nearby roads near schools or funeral homes to rally for GOD.

They would say GOD HATES FAGS or GOD HATES AMERICA every time they've shown up at an event.

While some may agree with their sick views, others have taken them to task.

Margie Phelps and Shirley Phelps-Roper.

While they protest their anti-gay bigotry, the counterprotesters would often block their attempts. Some of these attempts have gotten violent when family members rush the Phelps family.

Phelps and his followers frequently picketed various events, such as military funerals, gay pride gatherings, high-profile political gatherings, university commencement ceremonies, performances of The Laramie Project, mainstream Christian gatherings and concerts with which he had no affiliation, arguing it was their sacred duty to warn others of God's anger, leading a group of motorcycle riders to form the Patriot Guard Riders to provide a non-violent, volunteer buffer between the protesters and mourners.

Of course, the racist right would love to tag this nutjob to the Democratic Party. Although he's was a perennial candidate for higher office, Phelps would make it no secret he's no fan of the Democrats.

Meghan Roper, the granddaughter of Fred Phelps left.

He tried to run for the U.S. Senate as a social conservative.


He was known for the slogans that he and his ministry used against people he deemed 'sinful'; his church is built around a core of anti-homosexual theology, with many of their activities stemming from the slogan "God hates fags", which remains the name of the group's main website. Gay rights supporters denounced him as a producer of anti-gay propaganda and violence-inspiring hate speech.

The church is considered a hate group and monitored by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center.

He takes pride in one victory during his pathetic life/ He managed to win a Supreme Court case in which he and his family protested the funeral of fallen solider, Marine Lance Corporal Matthew A. Snyder.

Synder who died in combat in Iraq on March 3, 2006.

The Snyder family sued Fred Phelps for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

On October 31, 2007, WBC, Fred Phelps and his two daughters, Shirley Phelps-Roper and Rebekah Phelps-Davis, were found liable for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. A federal jury awarded Snyder's father $2.9 million in compensatory damages, then later added a decision to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and an additional $2 million for causing emotional distress (a total of $10.9 million).

The organization said it would not change its message because of the verdict.

Bitter to the end, Fred Phelps became a maytr of the racist right.

The lawsuit named Albert Snyder, father of Matthew Snyder, as the plaintiff and Fred W. Phelps, Sr.; Westboro Baptist Church, Inc.; Rebekah Phelps-Davis; and Shirley Phelps-Roper as defendants, alleging that they were responsible for publishing defamatory information about the Snyder family on the Internet, including statements that Albert and his wife had "raised [Matthew] for the devil" and taught him "to defy his Creator, to divorce, and to commit adultery". Other statements denounced them for raising their son Catholic. Snyder further complained the defendants had intruded upon and staged protests at his son's funeral. The claims of invasion of privacy and defamation arising from comments posted about Snyder on the Westboro website were dismissed on First Amendment grounds, but the case proceeded to trial on the remaining three counts.

An appeal by WBC was heard on September 24, 2009. The federal appeals court ruled in favor of Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church, stating that their picket near the funeral of LCpl Matthew A. Snyder is protected speech and did not violate the privacy of the service member's family, reversing the lower court's $5 million judgment. On March 30, 2010, the federal appeals court ordered Albert Snyder to pay the court costs for the Westboro Baptist Church, an amount totaling $16,510.

The Phelps family would protest at funerals of dead soldiers.

A writ of certiorari was granted on an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, and the oral argument for the case took place on October 6, 2010. Margie Phelps, one of Fred Phelps' children, represented the Westboro Baptist Church.[

The Court ruled in favor of Phelps in an 8–1 decision, holding that their speech related to a public issue, and was disseminated on a public sidewalk.

Phelps had long been estranged from family members who left the Westboro Baptist Church. One of those family members, son Nathan, reported that Phelps was in very poor health and receiving hospice care.
\
Nathan said that Phelps had been excommunicated from the church in August 2013.

The church's official website said in response that membership status is private and did not confirm or deny the excommunication.

Phelps died of natural causes shortly before midnight on March 19.

Phelps' daughter Shirley has stated that a funeral for her father will not be held because Westboro does not "worship the dead."