Last week, a Texas A&M graduate was killed by a fellow soldier during training.
As if the grief wasn’t enough for the family of 42-year-old Army Lieutenant Colonel Roy Lin Tisdale, Westboro Church had plans to protest his funeral.
STORY: It’s On! Barack To Tackle Drug War In Second Term
The Kansas based church group is known to target military funerals because of their belief that God punishes soldiers because of America’s tolerance of gays.
STORY: Tragic! Army Officer Dies While Video Chatting With Wife
They threatened to protest at the lieutenant’s funeral, but students of Texas A&M were not going to allow their alum’s funeral to be disrespected, so they formed a human barrier around his funeral service.
As reported by the Huffington Post:
Texas A&M alum Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale was killed on June 28 during a training exercise at Fort Bragg, N.C. Tisdale was killed by another soldier who then fatally shot himself.
In the days after the soldier’s death, word spread that Westboro Baptist Church members were planning to protest Tisdale’s funeral.
Described as a “homophobic and anti-Semitic hate group” by the Anti-Defamation League, Westboro Baptist Church regularly stages protests around the country.
When Ryan Slezia, a former Texas A&M student, heard of the group’s plans, he hatched a plot to foil their efforts.
“In response to their signs of hate, we will wear maroon. In response to their mob anger, we will form a line, arm in arm. This is a silent vigil. A manifestation of our solidarity,” he wrote on Facebook, inviting others to join him in a peaceful protest.
On Thursday, as Tisdale’s funeral was held at the Central Baptist Church in College Station, Tex., hundreds of students and alumni responded to Slezia’s invitation, linking arms to create a human barricade surrounding the church’s entrance.
What a beautiful act of brevity to protect their fellow alum after he protected our country.
SOURCE: Huffington Post
