O'Reilly Pays Legal Bill for Fallen Marine's Father
Tuesday, 30 Mar 2010 08:19 PM
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By: David A. Patten
No. 1 cable news host Bill O'Reilly said Tuesday that he will
personally write a check to cover $16,500 in legal costs for the father
of a fallen U.S. Marine who sued the members of a church who picketed
his son's funeral.
According to news reports, the members of the Westboro Baptist Church,
located in Topeka, Kan., believe that God is punishing the United
States because of its acceptance of gay people. The church garners
attention for its views by protesting high-profile funerals.
On March 3, 2006, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder died in a
non-combat related vehicle accident in Al Anbar province in Iraq.
"He was a hero and he was the love of my life," said Albert Snyder, Matthew's grieving father.
During the wake that was held after his son's funeral, family members
turned on the television to view coverage of the massive procession
involving over 1,500 persons. They saw the church members waving signs
and protesting the funeral.
"I just stood there in shock," Albert Snyder told O'Reilly in November 2007.
"I couldn't believe that somebody would do that to somebody else. I mean, I didn't know what to say.
"Finally, somebody yelled, 'Turn off the television.' But I just stood
there in shock. I can't believe there's somebody that would actually do
that to soldiers."
Albert Snyder filed a federal lawsuit against the church, and a jury
awarded him nearly $11 million dollars for invasion of privacy and
intentional infliction of emotional distress. But the U.S. Court of
Appeals overturned the verdict on the grounds that the church's First
Amendment right to free expression must be protected.
Adding insult to injury, the court also ruled that Snyder would have to
pay $16,500 to church members, to defray what they spent to defend
themselves in court.
It was a tough blow for the father, who was already trying to raise the
funds needed to appeal the Court of Appeals verdict to the U.S. Supreme
Court.
On Tuesday's The O'Reilly Factor, however, the host stepped forward.
"That is an outrage," he said. "I will pay Mr. Snyder's obligation. I am not going to let this injustice stand."
O'Reilly added, "It's obvious they were disturbing the peace by
disrupting the funeral. They should have been arrested, but our system
is so screwed up, so screwed up, that loons are allowed to run wild.
Snyder is fighting the good fight, and he is taking his case to the
Supreme Court as he should. We are behind him 100 percent."
Snyder's attorney, Sean Summers, says people can contribute to a legal
fund established at MatthewSnyder.org. The Supreme Court has agreed to
hear Snyder's appeal during its October term, with a verdict likely to
be announced in mid-2011.
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