Scores of protesters showed up in force outside Owasso High School Wednesday afternoon to protest a demonstration by Westboro Baptist Church.
Westboro Baptist is known for its anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and is recognized as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The church often sports signs with homophobic slurs at its demonstrations.
The church's demonstration Wednesday follows Nex Benedict's death. Benedict was a nonbinary student who died in February following a fight in a school bathroom. Police say Benedict did not die from trauma, although the final autopsy report has not been released.
The handful of Westboro protesters who gathered outside of Owasso High School just after 2 p.m. Wednesday sported signs with captions that targeted LGBTQ people. They were surrounded by roughly 250 counter-protesters until they got in their cars and drove away.
"(We're) here to show everybody that trans rights are human rights, that gay rights are human rights, and that we all deserve to have a space here," said Aaron Edwards, who drove from Edmond to protest.
The counter-protest was organized by Parasol Patrol, an organization that counter-protests Westboro Baptist outside of schools. Parasol Patrol co-founder Eli Bazan sported a pin with Benedict's name on it Wednesday.
Bazan said his organization has held more than 320 counter-protests since forming in 2019.
"Because of the bullying that Nex went through, we're here to show any other queer kids in that school that they're loved not in spite of who they are, but because of who they are," Bazan said.
Some demonstrators drove several hours to protest Westboro's appearance. Mel Martinez, a transgender pastor, is holding a vigil at his church in Wichita Falls later this month.
"Since we’re gonna be holding a vigil in Nex’s honor, I wanted to be sure to show up for Nex here," said Martinez.
Martinez, who has done LGBTQ+ advocacy work since the 1990s, was impressed with how many counter-protesters were there compared to Westboro demonstrators. He said the counter-protests used to be smaller.
"Somebody has to stand up and say, 'This isn’t right,'" said Shawn Martin, who drove from Stratford and joined the protest in his electric wheelchair.
The protest also drew people from Owasso, like Bren Montgomery. She sported a sign and a rainbow umbrella.
Montgomery said she was there to support Benedict’s family.
"I have so much empathy for the family and the hurtful things that are being said against them," she said.
