Country Jock Turns Tables on Westboro Baptist Church

It was time to give the protesters a piece of his mind, K99 FM KAUD Greeley jock Charley Barnes decided.

Time to go to Topeka, Kan., and bring the show to the Westboro Baptist Church. Time to protest the protesters, according to a story by Mike Peters at greeleytribune.com.

A group of protesters from that church travels the country, usually to attend the funerals for soldiers killed in fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. The church came to Greeley six years ago to protest at the funeral of Tyler MacKenzie, 20, an Evans resident who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq.

The Westboro church's signs at the protests usually include statements praising the deaths of soldiers and berating the U.S. military. Church members claim God is punishing the United States for supporting homosexuality.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Westboro marchers had the right to protest, citing freedom of speech issues.

“I just finally decided I wanted to go to Topeka and stand on their doorstep and exercise my rights,” said Barnes, who lives in Greeley.

Barnes, an afternoon DJ for Country K99 Radio, wrote his own report of the trek to Topeka, and it's posted online.

“I'm not on neutral ground on this,” Barnes said. “My father was retired from the Navy, and I have a stake in what they (Westboro) say about America's military.”

He was accompanied by three friends. They rode motorcycles (almost 600 miles) to Topeka last weekend, calling their trip a “journey for justice.”

Barnes said there was no real plan for Topeka; they just wanted to go and protest on the doorstep of the church. They arrived Saturday evening, then went to the church Sunday morning, carrying American flags, and rang the doorbell of the church.

He said one man finally came to the door but would not discuss any issues with the protesters. The man called the Topeka police, and three squad cars arrived. Barnes said the officers appeared to be on his side.

The officers told the man at the door that Barnes and his friend had the right to walk on the sidewalk with their flags and didn't need a permit.

“They got so mad that they moved the time of their church service,” Barnes said. “You can't protest or picket within 50 feet of a church while they are having a service.”

At that point, the men from Colorado started to pack up to leave when a woman living across the street from the church invited them to picket in her yard.

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