Church group plans protest at Pres. Hinckley's funeral

Wihongi said police have the responsibility to maintain order and civility by protecting the protesters' free-speech rights as well as the rights of the general public.

"If they have a permit, they're allowed to be there," he said, "but we'll definitely be enforcing the law."

Police will determine whether the demonstration meets the guidelines of protected free speech. Phelps-Roper, who will not be among the protesters in Salt Lake City on Saturday, said at least one of the picket signs will read, "Hinckley is in hell."

Wihongi said the planned demonstration creates potential for altercations between the protesters and those attending the funeral. He advises people who don't agree with the protesters' message to avoid them or at least ignore them.

"They want an audience," Wihongi said. "They want conflict. If people are aware that (protesters) are going to be there, they can prepare themselves to deal emotionally with that and avoid them if they can."

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church have protested in Utah before. In June, three members of the group demonstrated a few blocks away from a funeral of a South Jordan soldier. The protesters held signs displaying messages such as "pray for more dead soldiers."

The group also was among protesters who flocked to Salt Lake City during the 2002 Olympic Games. Its members previously protested outside the Conference Center in October 2001. The group has scheduled protests for a handful of other funerals in recent years but didn't show up.

LDS Church officials declined to comment Wednesday on the Westboro Baptist Church or its planned protest.

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