A tweet earlier this week inidcated the Westboro Baptist Church is having a difficult time maintaining members. Margie Phelps tweeted on Jan. 7, "Our children are leaving us in number not seen before." Phelps added, "It’s impossible to stop them." However, @WBCMediaContact tweeted that the message came from an imposter account.
Children as young as three are given picket signs to protest at funerals and other high profile events alongside adult WBC members. Children are raised in a culture of hating anything and everyone that disagrees with the Westboro’s interpretation of the Bible. That is pretty much anyone who isn’t part of their church – made up almost entirely of members of their own family.
Between 2004 and 2011, 20 people left the church, according to The Kansas City Star. The majority of those people were in their teens or early twenties. Nate Phelps, son of WBC founder and leader, Fred Phelps, left the church in 1976 at age 18 and now travels the country speaking out about the Westboro Baptist Church. Nate is hopeful young members will continue gathering up the courage to leave the church.
There is speculation surrounding the whereabouts of WBC member Zach Phelps-Roper, 21, who has been quiet on Twitter since Dec. 31 allegations of homosexuality, porn addiction and masturbation. Fred Phelps tweeted that Zach is being kept in a "punishment room," but perhaps the young man decided to leave the church on his own.
