Protesters don’t materialize at soldier’s funeral

Family members, friends, and community members crowded into the Florence Events Center yesterday morning to say farewell to Brice Scott, the Florence soldier killed two weeks ago in Afghanistan.  While the memories, eulogies and military ceremonies went on inside; dozens of flag-bearing members of the Patriot Honor Guard were standing vigil outside along with a loose cordon of police.  Authorities had learned earlier in the day that protestors associated with the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas planned to stage a demonstration outside the center during the service.  Police Chief Maury Sanders said the group never materialized, but had they arrived they would have been allowed to exercise their constitutional right to free expression.