Phelps, born in 1929, founded the Westboro Baptist Church in 1955. Since then the church has been well-known for their provocative methods of demonstrating. Their strategy is based on blaming almost every bad event on the growing tolerance towards homosexuals in the United States. Most of the time they demonstrate at memorial services. They've turned up at numerous soldier funerals holding signs with slogans like 'Thank God for dead soldiers' and 'God killed this man' meaning that God killed the soldier because of homosexuals, or as WBC likes to put it 'fags'.

In 2011, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Fred Phelps, along with his church, are protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Some states made a special law preventing WBC from protesting at funerals under the 'Let Them Rest In Peace Act'.

Most of the Phelps family are in the WBC. Various organizations that oppose child abuse have protested against the use of children in WBC demonstrations. They say children should be protected against this kind of indoctrination, brainwashing and mental abuse.

In the last few years Phelps lost touch with various family members because he believed they did not practice religion in the right way. His son and two granddaughters left the church.

The only son that left the church said that his father's death brought him mixed feelings. He said he is sad that some people have lost a dad and granddad whom they loved, but he's even more sad about the numerous people Fred hurt in his career as a pastor.

Documentary maker Louis Theroux made a documentary about the Phelps family titled 'The most hated family in the United States'.

Whether the death of Phelps will bring change to the WBC is unknown. According to Nate Phelps (Fred's son who left the church), Fred was excommunicated from the WBC just days prior to his death, for supposedly advocating a kinder approach.