Perhaps Bill O’Reilly isn’t the heartless son of a biscuit I thought he was.
On his television show on Wednesday, O’Reilly announced he would pay the roughly $16,000 in legal fees owed to the Westboro Baptist Church, a notorious anti-gay group, by Albert Snyder, who had sued the group after they picketed the 2006 funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder bearing signs that read “God Hates the USA. Snyder sued the Westboro Baptist Churgh for infliction of emotional distress, winning an $11 million judgment in 2007, however Snyder’s reward was reduced and then overturned on appeal, with a decision upholding the Westboro group’s right to free speech. As if to add insult to injury, a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge last week ordered Snyder to pay $16,510.80 of the Westboro Baptist Church’s almost $100,000 in legal fees.
“It was bad enough that they reversed the decision, but then to tell me I had to pay them money so they can do this to more military funerals, that’s what hurts the most,” Snyder, of York, Pa., said today on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case in the fall, but in the meantime the legal battle has sparked a national dispute over free speech and privacy for military families. A grassroots fundraising campaign to help Snyder has reached Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, who says he’ll cover the $16,000 tab.
“I will pay Mr. Snyder’s obligation. I’m not going to let this injustice stand,” O’Reilly said Wednesday on his show, “The O’Reilly Factor.” “It’s obvious those cranks at Westboro were intentionally trying to hurt Mr. Snyder and his family.”
In a statement to AOL News, O’Reilly said he feels Snyder is a “victim of judicial injustice.”
I’ll give Bill O’Reilly credit; he’s certainly doing a good thing by paying the legal fees owed by Albert Snyder.
H/T to Mercury Rising.
Good for Papa Bear. Since Glenn Beck’s arrival, O’Reilly has positioned himself as the responsible adult (as opposed to Beck’s petulant child).
Westboro really makes it difficult to be a free speech absolutist.
Agreed.
I’ve been trying to be less rigid lately, without being spineless or completely lacking in principles. It’s a fine line.
Yeah, it surely is a fine line, but I think it’s a line that can be walked, if one is careful.
Chris Matthews on MSNBC also interviewed the father and gave out the website to which donations could be made, and praised O’Reilly, too.
I would have been more impressed had he paid the fees without making it public.
Whether he made it public or not, he still did the right thing.
Making it public was the best thing O’Really could do for Snyder who is trying to raise awareness so people can support this case. I mean talk about free advertising and spreading awareness. Snyder will probably get far more contributions now thanks to O’Reilly talking about.
Yeah, that’s a good point. Raising awareness (even if it did give O’Reilly some good PR) also probably helped raise more money for Snyder.