Rick Perry Praises Human Shield Against Westboro Protesters

Texas Governor Rick Perry has commended 650 members of the Texas A&M community who organized a human shield to block Westboro Baptist Church antigay protesters at the funeral of Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale, reports BuzzFeed.

The late soldier is a Texas A&M graduate, as is the conservative governor. "Texas A&M has a long history with our nation's armed forces, so it's no surprise Aggies would rally behind a fallen service member and his family," Lucy Nashed, Perry's spokeswoman tells the site.

Last Thursday approximately 650 people turned out last week to create a protective maroon wall around the funeral of Tisdale to prevent from Westboro picketers, who often protest soldiers' funerals with unrelated antigay messages.