Supreme Court allows Westboro protests

The US Supreme Court has ruled that a controversial anti-gay church has the right to picket military funerals under by the free speech provision in the US Constitution.

The court ruled 8-1 in favour of the Westboro Baptist Church, which was sued by the father of a dead US Marine.

The court upheld a ruling throwing out a $5m (£3m) judgment to the father.

Chief Justice John Roberts said the Constitution could not be thrown out because “picketing was outrageous”.

“What Westboro said, in the whole context of how and where it chose to say it, is entitled to ‘special protection’ under the First Amendment, and that protection cannot be overcome by a jury finding that the picketing was outrageous,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in opinion for the court.

Matthew Snyder died in Iraq in 2006 and his body was returned to the US state of Maryland for burial, which members of the Westboro Baptist Church protested.