. >> what was fred phelps like his grandfather? >> he was loving and sweet and funny. he was the fire and brimstone preacher you could hear in the sermons and see it in interviews. very passionate believer and zealous believer. but he was also a loving grandfather who absolutely adored. >> what was the phelps family reputation in topeka? he talked about playing video games and having friends did other parents say stay away from megan phelps? >> we had acquaintances in school like we were so our parents raised us to be polite and friendly and good students to help others with their homework thing like that. we had these acquaintances but i started protesting before i started kindergarten. i grew up with this covert of classmates who knew i was going to be outside of their churches and outside the topeka performing arts center when they had performances of the nutcracker. by the time i got to high school i actually would leave class at the lunch period, cross the street and ticket my high school during lunch as my classmates were driving back sometime screaming and throw

what was the last conversation you had with fred phelps, your grand father? >> my last conversation with him was on his death bed. i went there in secret. my sister and i went to visit in hospice. >> what year was this >> this was in 2014, march of 2014. and he had been -- i found out, you know, at the end of february that he had been voted out of the church. i had a brother who had just left, and, you know, i wasn't sure exactly -- i wasn't sure -- because the last conversation i had with him was before that, was the day that i left the church, and he had kind of -- his voice was filled with disdain as he said to my mother i thought we had us a jewel this time, talking about me. and so it was -- that had been really heart breaking to look at him and realize that, you know, i was losing my -- everything, my community, my family, my home, you know, every aspect of my life in choosing to leave the church. and so i didn't know what i was going to find, if he would have any interest in speaking to me, if he was trying to get back into the church, and he was incre

‘gramps‘, the founder of the church, the reverend fred phelps? exactly, my grandfather.y my extended family. "they threw eggs and beer and big plastic bottles filled with urine," you write. "from behind my sign, i watched them approach us to hit, and threaten, and shove, and bellow, and spit, and grabforoursigns, our bodies, our hair. the police rarely seemed to help, but my parents kept us safe." yeah, and that's. .. we saw — because it was our duty to be out there, i never saw it as something that my parents putting us in danger. the criminals were putting us in danger. i trusted, obviously, my parents implicitly, as we all generally do when we're kids. but looking back on it, your parents weren't keeping you safe, were they? they were exposing you to verbal abuse and there were putting you potentially in harm's way. but for them, you know, they believe that god is with them, and requiring this of them. we would be in far more danger if they didn't have us out there, doing our duty to god. and now, do you still believe that to be the case? i. ..0bviously i see that the

. >> what was fred phelps like a grandfather? >> he was loving, sweet and funny, he was the fire peacher that you could hear in the sermons, see it in interviews, obviously very passionate believer, zealous believer in everything that he preached but he wast also a loving grandfatr who, i absolutely adored and i -- i miss him terribly after i left. >> what was the phelps family reputation in topeka, you talked about playing video games, did they say stay away from megan phelps? >> our participants raised us to be polite and friendly and good students to help others with our homework, things like that and so we had aquinces, -- acquaintances and i started protesting and i had cohort of classmates that i was out of cochurches and performing arts center, so we were constantly protesting the same people that i was going to school with and then by the time i got to high school i actually would leave class, you know, at lunch period, cross the street and picket my high school as classmates were driving by and sometimes screaming and th