Westboro Baptist Church's attempts to protest at Leonard Nimoy funeral thwarted by inability to find it

The Westboro Baptist Church were foiled in their attempts to protest at the funeral of Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy on 1 March, because of their failure to find it.

The church posted a Twitter update lamenting its inability to picket the event, which it said was due to a lack of publicity over the location. The organisation also referenced the widely-publicised failure of Nimoy’s Star Trek co-star William Shatner to attend the funeral.

Westboro has become notorious for its uninvited presence at high-profile funerals of those whose sexuality and beliefs it disagrees with. The WBC, which is also anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic and anti-Chinese, believes that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are God’s punishment on America for tolerating homosexuality.

Nimoy, 83, died on Friday morning of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at his home in Los Angeles. Shatner, who played Captain Kirk to his colleague’s Spock on television and in seven big screen outings, has lamented his inability to attend the funeral. The 83-year-old actor, who had been pre-booked for a charity function, took to Twitter on Sunday to talk about his friend and answer questions from fans.