CNN
An estranged son of anti-gay Kansas pastor Fred Phelps said Wednesday that the spiritual leader of Westboro Baptist Church hit his wife and beat his children with a mattock handle until they bled.
"I think what he does out there is evil," said Nathan "Nate" Phelps, during an appearance on HLN's "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell."
Nate Phelps is the seventh of the Westboro Baptist minister's 12 children. The younger Phelps severed ties with his family on his 18th birthday and said he hasn't had contact with his father in three decades. Nate Phelps is currently writing a book about his family.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that Westboro's practice of picketing the funerals of fallen soldiers with offensive placards is constitutionally protected free speech. The picketing, which includes chants and placards stating "God Hates Fags" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers," have enraged supporters of the U.S. military and the families and friends of slain soldiers.
Nate Phelps called his pastor father "one of the best reasons that America has been forced to get off the fence and address this issue (of gay rights)."
"But at the same time you can't ignore the fact that he's done a lot of damage," Phelps said. "He's hurt a lot of families, not only in the gay community, but the families of these soldiers."
The younger Phelps said his father also hurt his own family.
"He used his fists. He used his knees and he used ... the handle of a mattock," said Phelps, referring to a pick-like digging tool. "He used that in such a way that it split the skin on the back of the kid's legs so they bled."
"If they want to call that discipline, that's fine. But I call it abuse," Phelps said.
The son said Fred Phelps also hit his mother, but not with the handle of the mattock.
Phelps has also said his father abused prescription drugs when he was in law school. He didn't back down from the claim during the HLN interview...[Full Article]
Video interview on CNN...Nathan Phelps Interviewed by Jane Velez-Mitchell
Westboro's Phelps Beat, Abused Family: Son
Newsmax
The anti-gay Westboro Baptist preacher known for protesting at the funerals of U.S. service members beat his children with an axe handle and also physically abused his wife, Nathan Phelps charged during an appearance on HLN's "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell." The estranged son of controversial preacher Fred Phelps said “I think what he does out there is evil."
Nathan, the seventh of 13 children, spilt from his family when he turned 18 and hasn’t had any contact with his father for 30 years. He is writing a book about the family whose practices of picketing soldiers’ funerals with anti-gay signs that say “God Hates Fags” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” was found to be constitutionally protected speech by the Supreme Court...[Full Article]
