Read Libby Purves on the verdict on Faith Central

The grieving father of a dead US soldier has won nearly $11 million (£5.2 million) in damages against a fundamentalist church that disrupts military funerals in the belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for America’s tolerance of homosexuality.

Albert Snyder sued the Westboro Baptist Church for unspecified damages after members demonstrated at the funeral of his son, Marine Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq last year.

The federal jury awarded $2.9 million in compensation, then returned in the afternoon with further decisions to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy, and $2 million for causing emotional distress.

Craig Trebilcock, Mr Snyder’s attorney, had urged jurors to fix an amount that sent a strong message: "Do not bring your circus of hate to Maryland again.”

The defence said that it planned to appeal, and one of the church’s leaders, Shirley Phelps-Roper, said that members would "absolutely" continue to picket funerals.

“Don’t you understand this was an act in futility?” said Ms Phelps-Roper.

Members of the church, which is based in Kansas, routinely picket funerals of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, carrying signs such as “God hates fags” and “Thank God for dead soldiers".

They gave evidence that they were following their religious beliefs by spreading the message that soldiers are dying because America is too tolerant of homosexuality.

Their attorneys maintained that the burial was a public event, and that even abhorrent points of view are protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and religion.

Mr Snyder claimed that the protests intruded upon what should have been a private ceremony and sullied his memory of the event.

Several states have passed laws regarding funeral protests, and Congress has passed a law prohibiting such protests at federal cemeteries. But the Maryland lawsuit is believed to be the first filed by the family of a fallen serviceman.

The church and three of its leaders - Fred Phelps and his two daughters, Ms Phelps-Roper and Rebekah Phelps-Davis, 46 - were found liable for invasion of privacy and intent to inflict emotional distress.

Mr Snyder sobbed when he heard the verdict, while members of the church greeted the news with tightlipped smiles.

The group says that it is confident the award will be overturned on appeal. Mr Phelps said: “Oh, it will take about five minutes to get that thing reversed.”

Earlier, church members staged a demonstration outside the federal courthouse. Mr Phelps held a sign reading “God is your enemy”, while Ms Phelps-Roper stood on an American flag and carried a sign that read “God hates fag enablers”. Members of the group sang “God Hates America" to the tune of “God Bless America”.

It was unclear whether the plaintiffs would be able to collect the damages awarded. Before the jury began deliberating the size of punitive damages, District Judge Richard Bennett noted that the size of the compensatory award “far exceeds the net worth of the defendants”, according to financial statements filed with the court.

Jonathan Katz, defending the church, said that it has about 75 members and is funded by tithing. He added that the assets of the church and the three defendants are less than a million dollars and that the compensatory award is about three times the defendants’ net worth, mainly in homes, cars and retirement accounts.

One of Mr Snyder’s attorneys, Sean Summers, said that he would tirelessly seek payment of the award. “We will chase them forever if it takes that long,” he said.

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