O’Reilly helps fallen marine’s father pay legal fees

March 31st, 2010

News host Bill O’Reilly is helping a fallen marine’s father pay legal fees to members of Westboro Baptist Church. The father sued Westboro Baptist Church for picketing his son’s funeral and won nearly $11 million. But, the US Court of Appeals overturned the verdict on First Amendment grounds.

In case you don’t know, Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, KS likes to spew their hate messages at high profile funerals, especially those of soldiers. So, when the court overturned the award, it now fell upon the father to pay, yes, pay the church for their expenses in defending the suit.

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.”

This is being appealed to the Supreme Court.