Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly has
pledged to pay Albert Snyder's court tab in his fight against an
anti-gay church.
Snyder is the father of Marine Lance
Cpl. Matthew Snyder, whose 2006 funeral was protested by the Topeka,
Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church. Snyder, 20, was killed in
Iraq.
Fred Phelps, the church's leader, says
his group protests the funerals of dead soldiers because they are
God's punishment for America's sins, including tolerance of gay men
and lesbians.
Phelps' followers waved signs saying
“God hates fags” and “Thank God for dead soldiers” outside
Matthew Snyder's funeral.
Albert Snyder sued the church, saying
the group intentionally inflicted emotional distress on the family.
Snyder won his battle in 2007 when a
federal jury in Baltimore awarded the family $11 million in damages.
But late last year, the award was overturned on appeal. The Supreme
Court has agreed to hear the case.
Last week, the Court of Appeals for the
Fourth Circuit ordered Snyder to pay $16,510 in legal fees to Phelps.
According to the Baltimore Sun,
donations to help offset the costs have been pouring in.
“I was appalled,” Sally Giannini,
72, who sent Snyder $10, told the paper.
Others have also stepped up, including
Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly, who has offered to pay the court
tab.
The court order “is an outrage and I
will pay Mr. Snyder's obligation,” O'Reilly told viewers Tuesday
night on The O'Reilly Factor. Snyder told WBAL radio in
Baltimore that he was aware that O'Reilly would be making the offer.
Nearly a quarter of a million people
have joined the Facebook group I
Support Al Snyder in his Fight Against Westboro Baptist Church.
“It
kind of restores your faith in mankind after dealing with this wacko
church,” Snyder told the New York Daily News.
“Win or lose, I'll know that I did everything I could for Matt,
and for all the soldiers and Marines who are still coming home
dying.”