Steve Jobs' Sunday memorial service to
be protested by the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church.
The private event will be held at
Stanford University's campus Sunday evening. Jobs was laid to rest
last week. Expected to attend the invitation-only event are Silicon
Valley luminaries and people close to Jobs, The Wall Street
Journal reported.
In a tweet to his more than 1,400
followers, Steve Drain, a member of the Westboro Baptist Church,
announced the group would picket the service. Drain, who is not
related to church founder Fred Phelps, also posted on Facebook that
the church would protest an upcoming celebration of Jobs' life to be
held on Wednesday at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California.
In an earlier tweet, Margie Phelps,
daughter of Fred Phelps, messaged: “Westboro will picket his
funeral. He had a huge platform; gave God no glory & taught
sin.”
Tech visionary Jobs died on October 5.
The 56-year-old father of four succumbed to pancreatic cancer after a
long battle.
Jobs returned to helm Apple, the
company he co-founded with Steve Wozniak, in 1997. He revolutionized
the tech industry with the introduction of the iPod and later shook
up the cellular phone market with the iPhone. He stepped down as CEO
of Apple in August.
Westboro, which coined the phrase “God
hates fags,” also protested the funerals of Elizabeth Edwards and
the legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor.