About 16 people were hit with pepper spray when a man in a Ford F-150 targeted religious protesters at a U.S. Marine's funeral in Omaha, Nebraska yesterday.
62-year-old George Vogel drove past a crowd of protesters and demonstrators who were gathered outside of a marine’s funeral and attacked them with pepper spray. Police believe Vogel was targeting the Westboro Baptist Church protesters, a group that believes the death of U.S. soldiers is God’s punishment for the “sin of homosexuality.”
Protesters were known for radical banners
The Westboro protesters are led by pastor Fred Phelps and have been known to shout at family members of slain soldiers and carry signs that read “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” and “God Blew Up the Troops.”
Vogel was booked for 16 counts of misdemeanor assault. A CNN ireporter, John Meadows, was hit with pepper spray and so was a police officer, which added a felony assault charge to Vogel’s case. Vogel was also charged with child neglect because he attacked the demonstrators while his child was inside his vehicle.
The funeral for Michael Bock, a 26-year old Marine who died on August 13 in Afghanistan’s Hemland province, was held at First United Methodist Church in Omaha. The incident took place just before 10 a.m. CST, just as the Westboro protestors had gathered a block away from Bock’s memorial service.
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