KTKA

Omaha, Neb. — A woman charged with violating Nebraska's flag-desecration law outside a soldier's funeral wants her judge removed because he had belonged to a group that shields such funerals from protesters.

An attorney for Shirley Phelps-Roper said Friday that Douglas County Judge Lawrence Barrett has disclosed that he was involved at some point with the Patriot Guard Riders. The motorcycle group attends military funerals and attempts to minimize disruptions from protesters.

Phelps-Roper is a member of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., known for protesting at military funerals to express the belief that U.S. troop deaths are punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.

A phone message left for Barrett wasn't immediately returned Friday.