March 26, 1993: Eight Anti-Gay Church Protesters Injured in Riot

Protesters from the virulently anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church (WBC—see November 27, 1955 and After) in Tokepa, Kansas, become part of a riot when angry passersby take umbrage at the extreme rhetoric of the protesters. Eight WBC members are hospitalized with a variety of minor injuries. The riot takes place outside the Vintage Restaurant. The WBC dubs the event “The Vintage Massacre” and begins picketing the restaurant every day, as well as places of business where Vintage employees go after leaving the restaurant in an attempt to escape the picketing. The WBC will hold a “memorial service” every March 26 hereafter in honor of the “massacre.” [Global Oneness, 2011]