Anger rises over bill to father of slain Marine

"As soon as we heard this, we just knew that it was going to go through the roof, and people were going to be upset. We seized on it," Seavey said. "On an issue like this that cuts across political lines, it's relatively easy, and it's the kind of fight we want to wade into because it's not right or left, it's right or wrong. We're going to do the best we can to make sure that Mr. Snyder doesn't have to deal with this. We're going to make sure he doesn't have to pay a red cent." Mark C. Seavey, new-media director for the American Legion

Seavey is right and this issue has captured the attention (and outrage) of the American people. This is not about anything other than doing the right thing.

Albert Snyder, right, and lawyer Sean Summers are waiting for the Supreme Court to rule in their suit against Westboro Baptist Church. A lower appeals court ruled that the York, Pa., man must pay $16,510 in some court costs incurred under the church members' appeal. (Baltimore Sun photo by Barbara Haddock Taylor / March 22, 2010)

Anger rises over bill to father of slain Marine
Support, money sent to help pay court costs in Westboro suit
By Robbie Whelan

March 31, 2010
Outraged that the father of a dead Marine was ordered to pay some court costs incurred by a group he had sued for picketing his son's funeral, people from across the country have launched a grass-roots fundraising effort to help the grieving family.

"I was appalled," said Sally Giannini, a 72-year-old retired bookkeeper from Spokane, Wash., who had called The Baltimore Sun after seeing an article about the court decision against Albert Snyder. "I believe in free speech, but this goes too far."

Living on a fixed income, Giannini said she could send only $10 toward the $16,510.80 that the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Snyder to pay to Fred Phelps, leader of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., an anti-gay group that travels the country picketing military funerals. The group says military deaths are God's punishment for America's tolerance of homosexuality.

Snyder sued Westboro because its members waved signs saying "God hates fags" and "God hates the USA" at the 2006 funeral in Westminster of his son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who had been killed in Iraq. A federal jury in Baltimore awarded Snyder $11 million in damages in 2007, saying Phelps' group intentionally inflicted emotional distress on the family. The award was later reduced to $5 million, and eventually overturned on appeal.
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Anger rises over bill to father of slain Marine

Bill O’Reilly Pays Legal Bill for Fallen Marine’s Father

But it turns out, the money may not be needed to pay the protesters.

Updated March 30, 2010
Marine's Father Will Not Pay Court-Ordered Funeral Protesters' Fees
FOXNews.com
The father of a Marine killed in Iraq whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protesters told Fox News he will defy a court order and not pay the protesters' appeal costs.

The father of a Marine killed in Iraq whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protesters told Fox News he will defy a court order and not pay the protesters' appeal costs.

Albert Snyder, of York, Pa., told Fox News he does not intend to pay $16,510 to Fred Phelps, the leader of Kansas' Westboro Baptist Church, which held protests at Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder's funeral in 2006.

"I don't think I'm going to be writing a check until I hear from the Supreme Court," Snyder told Fox News on Tuesday. "I'm not about to pay them anything."

The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ordered Snyder on Friday to pay Phelps. A two-page decision supplied by his attorneys offered no details on how the court came to its decision.

The decision adds "insult to injury," said Sean Summers, one of Snyder's attorneys.

Snyder is also struggling to come up with fees associated with filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, his attorneys said.
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Marine Father Will Not Pay Court-Ordered Funeral Protesters'

Does this mean that O'Reilly will pay the money Mr. Snyder owes his lawyers for taking on this case?

Somehow I have a feeling O'Reilly will do the right thing and help this father with his own legal bills because he cares and this is not some kind of a stunt. This is not about politics at all and people on both sides agree this is wrong, wrong, wrong beyond belief!