Acceptance of Michael Sam, the NFL's
first openly gay player, contributed to the death of Michael Brown,
the rabidly anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church has claimed.
Brown is the 18-year-old
African-American who was shot to death by Ferguson, Missouri police
officer Darren Wilson, who is white. Brown's death sparked unrest in
Ferguson, considered a highly segregated area with a long history of
racial tensions.
“Regardless of the details [of
Brown's death], the cause was from the Lord!” the group said in
announcing it would protest Brown's August 25 funeral.
“Missouri has made itself known
worldwide for three things, fags (e.g. Michael Sam); bestiality; and
shredding the constitution in order to remove the Word of God from
their streets.”
“Now you reap what you have so
diligently sown, Missouri! Your streets resemble a Middle Eastern
warzone! Those same lawless citizens that you turned loose on WBC
now riot and loot; those same oath-breaking cops gun down unarmed
citizens in the streets, and then cower behind weapons of war…All
evidence points to Michael [Brown] now being in Hell. It’s your
fault, Missouri! His blood is on your hands!” the
anti-gay group added.
(Related: Anti-gay
activist Fred Phelps dead at 84.)