Maplewood Police Chief: Westboro Baptist Church Has Right to Peaceful Protest

Maplewood Police learned about Westboro Baptist Church’s plans to picket at Maplewood Richmond Heights on Oct. 16, and will be at the planned protest on Saturday, Oct. 20.

MRH High School is producing The Laramie Project, a play that promotes tolerance towards gays, and Westboro Baptist Church is know for its harsh protests against tolerance, and gays in general.

Maplewood chief Steve Kruse received a letter from an attorney representing Westboro Baptist Church, notifying him they were going to protest The Laramie Project, and wanted police protection.

Kruse said he was told that about six to eight protesters will protest before the Saturday, Oct. 20 matinee performance.

“They stated that they plan on doing a peaceful protest, that they will obey all local laws, and that they are worried about counter-protesters,” Kruse said.

MRH students plan to counter-protest Westboro Baptist.

He said the designated protest area is at Martini Avenue and Manchester Road.

“It’s going to last for 45 minutes and when they are done they will get in their vehicles and go back to Topeka, Kansas,” he said.

“Everybody has a right to exercise their freedom of speech, as long as no laws are broken, the peace is maintained, and that is what we want,” he said. “We’ll be there to insure nothing happens.”

Westboro Baptist protested at Clayton High School in February.

Clayton Chief of Police Thomas Byrne, said he heard from the group before the protest, just like Kruse did. He said there were no problems at the protest.

“We kept them separated, and Westboro doesn’t do a real long thing,” he said. “They’re only there for about 15-20 minutes, then they leave. If everybody keeps cool heads shouldn’t be any problem.”

More from Patch about Westboro Baptist and The Laramie Project:

Westboro Baptist to Picket MRH Play on Homosexuality and Tolerance

MRH Will Respond to Westboro Baptist Church Picket

See more on Westboro Baptist Church visits to the area:

Replay: Westboro Baptist Church Protests in Clayton and St. Peters

Westboro Baptist Church Schedules Clayton High School Protest

VIDEO: Westboro Baptist Church Protests at Clayton High School

Correction: The article previously stated that Chief Steve Kruse heard from the Westboro Baptist attorney on Aug. 16. The correct date is Oct. 16.