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Friday, March 11, 2011

New York - Protest group nowhere to be found

OFF THE WIRE
Michael Randall
 recordonline.com

Top Photo
Members of Rolling Thunder New York Chapter 3 salute as vehicles heading to West Point for the burial of 1st Lt. Daren Hidalgo pass by.
TOM BUSHEY/Times Herald-Record
HIGHLAND FALLS — This counterprotest lacked just one thing — a protest to counter.
The fear was members of the Westboro Baptist Church would protest as the funeral procession for 1st Lt. Daren Hidalgo entered West Point's Thayer Gate.
The Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church is known for its protests at military funerals. Its members say they are fighting same-sex marriage and other sins being "pushed" by the United States. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the church's First Amendment right to stage the protests.
The Westboro group never materialized.
More than a dozen members of the local chapter of Rolling Thunder, a veterans advocacy group made up of veterans and non-veterans, did show. They gathered along West Point Highway Monday afternoon.
Ron Orts, chapter president, said he hoped it was their presence that kept Westboro away. "It's good when there's no turmoil," Orts said. "It's not needed."
mrandall@th-record.com