UPDATE: Owasso prepares for religious protestors

Clarice Doyle, Claremore Daily Progress, Okla.
·1 min read
10

Mar. 5—OWASSO — School and town officials in Owasso are again making plans to ensure student and public safety after leaders of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church out of Topeka, Kansas, posted online they plan to be in town Wednesday afternoon.

The town has been the site for multiple vigils on behalf of 16-year-old Nex Benedict, a nonbinary Owasso High School student who died the day after a physical altercation with three girls in a school restroom.

Westboro church shares "religious opinion and Bible commentary on current events" online and through protests, where church members use large placards with controversial language.

Lt. Nick Boatman, Owasso Police Department public information officer, confirmed the agency is aware of the event, but said no official comment will be issued at this time.

In 2005, Westboro held an anti-war protest at the funeral of a fallen Army Staff Sgt. John Doles from Chelsea, who had been killed in an ambush in Afghanistan. The Claremore Progress reported family members invited members of the American Legion Riders group from Oklahoma and Kansas to provide a barrier around the funeral site blocking the view of the protestors. They also revved their engines to drown out protest language.

Westboro's online flyer states, "Lord willing, the gospel will be preached at Owasso, OK, where they all treated Nex Benedict despitefully and now she's dead." It states the group will be at the Owasso Public School Board and Owasso High School.

Boatman said the Medical Examiner's office has yet to issue an official cause of death for Benedict.