Florida Man Steve Drain May Take Over Westboro Baptist Church
A Florida man who’s long been involved with the Westboro Baptist Church and was a close disciple of the church’s late founder may be poised to be the church’s next leader, according to The Daily Beast.
Steve Drain, a University of South Florida alumnus from Tampa and former atheist, set out in 2001 to study the members of WBC as part of his documentary “Hatemongers.” Instead of exposing the group’s homophobia like he originally intended, he ended up becoming enamored with the church and moved his family to Topeka, Kansas that same year to join the congregation.
Nate Phelps, son of WBC’s late founder Fred Phelps Sr., told The Daily Beast that he believes Drain is responsible for Phelps Sr.’s excommunication from the church before his death. Nate Phelps escaped the church at age 18 and now works as an LGBT advocate, but he keeps tabs on the congregation and its inner workings.
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