Teamsters gather outside Medford church to shield Krystle M. Campbell’s
funeral Mass from possible Westboro Baptist Church protesters


MEDFORD - Some 200 members of Teamsters Local 25 members began gathering
at St. Joseph’s Church before 8 a.m. today, promising to block
protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church if they follow through on a
threat to picket the funeral of Krystle M. Campbell, who died in the
Boston Marathon bombings.

Campbell’s funeral Mass is set for 11 a.m., a week after the bombings.

Sean O’Brien, president and principal officer of Teamster’s local, said
the community reached out to the Teamsters yesterday “because they know
how influential we are.”

“It’s the right thing to do,” O’Brien said of the decision to protect
the funeral. “The family deserves a peaceful grieving process that’s
free from any coward-led group.”

O’Brien said the Teamsters mobilized their members and other unions
through Twitter and Facebook yesterday. He added that about 350
Teamsters are expected this morning, “and we can get 1,000 if we need them.”

The Westboro church is a fringe religious organization whose members
stage protests at high-profile funeral services to draw attention to
their views. At 9:30 a.m., no church members were visible in the crowd
growing around the church. The service is set for 11 a.m. today.

On Sunday, about 1,000 mourners attended Campbell’s wake at the Dello
Russo funeral home here.

A funeral director said that among those who came to pay their respects
were US Senator Elizabeth Warren, US Representative Edward Markey,
Attorney General Martha Coakley, Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn, and
Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone.

Mourners waited in a line that sometimes lasted nearly an hour and a
half to file by photo displays chronicling Campbell’s life from when she
was a baby through her childhood and teen years to when she was an adult.

Through all the photos, her smile and freckles were ever-present.

Campbell was one of three people murdered during the April 15 terrorist
bombing that also wounded more than 170, some of whom lost legs or other
limbs from the shrapnel the bomb makers put inside their explosives,
officials said.

http://tinyurl.com/bw5k8w3

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In the good old days, the Teamsters would have beaten the Westboro
assholes to a pulp.