Westboro-FBI dialogue training sparks change at agency
If you had to find someone obnoxious for this training then you probably couldn’t make a better choice, but this was still just a dumb move.
Westboro Baptist Church, an anti-gay Topeka congregation known for protesting military funerals, has sent guest speakers to FBI training sessions, the bureau said.
But church members won’t be welcome in the future.
The sessions were designed to teach younger FBI agents and law-enforcement officers around the country how to deal with groups they strongly disagree with, said church member Timothy Phelps, who spoke at some of the sessions.According to National Public Radio, which first reported the story, the bureau won’t invite the congregation back.
The Associated Press quoted an unnamed FBI official who said the bureau underestimated how Westboro Baptist’s involvement would be viewed.