Westboro Protests In Owatonna
We shared the past couple of weeks that Westboro Baptist Church was planning on pretesting at 4 area churches and at the Owatonna High School. They did show up at Bethel Church in Owatonna on Sunday morning, at the time published, 8:30 am.
I was surprised that there were not more people, I counted about 16 of them, all parked across the street, holding their signs. It was a very cold morning to be out protesting, yet, there they were. They did some yelling, however, nobody engaged them in conversation and there were a couple of people holding counter-protest signs.
I went to OHS this morning as well, and I only counted 10 people, who were on both sides of the road. They were again holding their signs, but, they were not saying anything. There was a lot of traffic going past the school, which is to be expected, and I saw about 6 counter-protestors. There was a definite police presence, both at the church and at the school.
Honestly, I am not sure exactly what I expected, we have heard about their protests all over the US, and this seemed to be very low-key, especially at the high school. I heard no yelling, no honking from cars, just them standing there with their signs. I guess I expected more people, more yelling, more something. I walked away thinking that this was nothing, as far as what we have seen reported on the news stations.
Please see the video for what I witnessed, as well as a Pastor's reflection. I have already shared my opinion of these protests, and it has not changed. The only thing that has changed for me, is now I know that their group is not as big as I had thought.