Tucson: Fred Phelps no-show
by Emrys Monday, Jan. 10, 2005 at 1:11 AM

Nearly 20 people showed up to oppose Fred Phelp at Rincon High Monday morning - but Fred and his goons weren't there!

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Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptists' highly anticipated appearance failed to amount to anything Monday morning at Rincon High School. Phelps’ vehemently anti-gay troupe was targeting Rincon High because of a play put on by students last month. The production, “The Laramie Project,” tells the story of Matthew Shepard, a gay teenager brutally murdered in 1998 in Wyoming.

Phelps, 75, was expected to be at Rincon with a group from his congregation at 7:00 am. School administrators, police and Tucson Unified School District personnel were present to keep an eye on the situation. One TUSD employee present said he was very happy with the community’s support on the issue.

More than 20 counter protestors showed up, many from the Dry River Collective and other radical groups in town. The demonstration lasted for about an hour as people lined the sidewalk along 5th Street, holding sings and chatting with students on their way to class.

Word on the street is that Phelps will be coming back to Tucson sometime later this spring.

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Some chipper counter demonstrators
by Emrys Monday, Jan. 10, 2005 at 1:11 AM

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