Albert Snyder’s heart sank when he picked up his local newspaper on the morning after he buried his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, and found the front page dominated by a story about protestors thanking God for killing another soldier.

Snyder knew then he had to do something.

“It was splattered all over the newspapers the next day,” Snyder told TODAY co-host Matt Lauer in an exclusive interview Thursday. “The thing that was so disappointing was the fact that there was like, a two-by-two picture of my son and almost a full page on the protestors. That was kind of hard.”

Snyder sued the group, and on Wednesday a Maryland jury found the members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., who organized the protest, liable for damages they caused the Snyder family.

The church was ordered to pay Albert Snyder nearly $11 million.