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NEWTOWN PROTESTS

Hackers Target Westboro Baptist Church Over Sandy Hook

Anonymous hacks accounts and launches White House petition

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by Mary Noble

Senior Editor t

Image: Politix

The notorious "hacktivist" group Anonymous made waves on Monday by hacking the email and Twitter accounts of the virulently anti-gay group Westboro Baptist Church, whose members promised to picket the funerals of Sandy Hook victims to "sing praise" for the deaths:

Westboro will picket Sandy Hook Elementary School to sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment.

tweeted Westboro member Shirley Phelps-Roper. Her account was subsequently hacked and taken over by Anonymous activist Cosmo, who added the image above to her Twitter profile.

Many Twitter users clearly approve of Cosmo's work, barraging the hacked account messages like this:

Cosmo, as a sailor in the Navy, who's had friends funerals picketed by WBC, I want to say thank you. From the bottom of my heart.

Some commentators are less approving. Anonymous's hack merely gives attention to Westboro – a "deranged" group that's "best ignored," writes Will Oremus at Slate.

On this occasion Anonymous hacktivists aren't just hacking: they've also launched a White House petition calling on Obama to "Investigate the IRS Tax-Exempt Status of the Westboro Baptist Church." The church is tax-exempt because it is a religious group, but as the petition puts it,
The Westboro Baptist Church is better-known for homophobic displays, suing people and picketing funerals than for providing Christian care to a community.

The petition already has 29,000 signtures.

Via Yahoo News and Slate.
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Do you support Anonymous's actions against the Westboro Baptist Church?

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Comments (view in Forum)

  • jessejaymes
    !
    As tempting as it is to say GO GET THEM anonymous, hacking is not right. Stop it. As far as investigating their tax exempt status goes I support that completely. This is one nutcase family.
  • kirbstomp1
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    I say of your hacking is for robin good reasons only such as this one we will give you a break. Jack something important and you are done. Time in the pen.
  • jessejaymes
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    @kirbstomp1 Well since this is the oval office and no one else knows what we talk about Mr. President I'm going to have to disagree. While my human nature is to say hack em, stomp em, leave them on a rail tar and feathered and invite kids to shoot them with BB guns the truth is I don't want to be hacked and when you justify one there is someone else will to justify another and first thing you know someone has hacked YOUR bank account and someone else will puff up and say 'good he deserved it'. Westboro Baptist Church deserves to be in jail for criminal trespass and harassment if you ask me but nobody did. But there is no excuse for hacking American citizens no matter how despicable they are.
  • jessejaymes
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    @EMS_Servant I dare say they have been and are under investigation by the Feds. Kansas won't bother them. They believe in this sort of crap in the majority. But you can bet the feds are trying to find a way to put this bunch out of business.

  • View all 9 replies >

  • CanisCanemEdit
    !
    @bthorpe - Don't forget that this was all tried in the Supreme Court less than two years ago and the SCOTUS declared that the particular type of evil these idiots pour onto grieving families is indeed "Free Speech" and protected under the US Constitution.

    Thank you, wise and knowing Justices.

    Now pull your fking heads out.
  • Fishbone345
    !
    @CanisCanemEdit It /is/ Free Speech. Hate it not, the fact remains. Hence Anonymous being the smarter again and getting people to focus on their tax exempt status. Churches can't have political positions and not pay taxes! Who knew!
    Tax the shit out of those scumbags. Release the full fury of the IRS and give them an IRS raping the equivalent of a Godzilla Tokyo curbstomp.
  • CanisCanemEdit
    !
    @Fishbone345 - You are preaching to the choire here. I live near Topeka where these sickos are from.

    For the life of me I have a hard time understanding why God let's these jackals live and prosper while sending no guardian angles to shield the kindergartners in SH.

    Makes an old man ask hard questions...

  • View all 11 replies >

  • o
    Sonny
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    I think the people at Westboro are not much better than terrorists. They hide behind the first amendment and then go out and harass, intimidate, and emotionally attack grieving families at the worst possible times...If our laws allow for that kind of mistreatment of our fellow citizens at the hands of these vicious nasty people...then I have no problem with them being hacked...and shown what it means to be harassed by some one else...Keep up the good work on these "fake religious thugs"...and make them "feel it"...
  • AtheistStand
    !
    Yes I think they are crazy, but they actually just volcalize and make public what many religious people think and say in private.

    That is whats sick.

    Remember this video? Nauseating and its in a CHURCH. Watch as the adults stand and clap as the child sings a derogatory song.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch...

    Religions plant seeds of hate and support the hate by saying "god" is on their side.
  • hwyangel
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    The westboro baptist church is hate group. They are not affiliated with the two largest Baptist denominations, and their hate includes Catholics and all orthodox Christian denominations.
    And in the video. I personally spoke to a woman that attended that church. It was a wedding and the little boy wanted to sing a country song for his Aunt and Uncle. No one expected him to say what he did. They were not cheering him, they were laughing at him. The poor kid ran crying from the stage.
    Even so, homosexuals will not go to heaven. To be offended by this statement requires belief that heaven exists. And if you believe that heaven exists then don't say you haven't been warned.
  • u
    Cheenoguy
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    @hwyangel
    Really you are proving that groups like this are really just louder versions of Christians. You believe (and often say) that god hates gays and will not let them into heaven, thus meaning they go to hell. You have often said that condoning homosexuality and teaching evolution is why god doesn't love this country. How are you any different then them? Because you happen to not do it at funerals?
  • hwyangel
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    @Cheenoguy

    I didn't say that God hates gays. God loves everybody and wants everyone to go to heaven, but he won't force anybody to go either. God is not controlling your thoughts, emotions or actions. That's all you.
  • hwyangel
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    @Cheenoguy

    No. Hell is a choice and heaven is a choice.
    God doesn't force anything on you.
    I also believe that if someone told me that I wasn't going to OZ or never never land that I wouldn't be at all concerned as you seem to be about going to hell. That's a good thing.:)

  • View all 12 replies >

  • o
    Coolvoter
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    @Fishbone345 don't all the Christian denominations squabble like this?
    Didn't Jesus say not to worship in church but To go out in fellowship?
    Do you think Jesus would approve of Catholics hating baptists hatin Protestants??
  • bthorpe
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    Westboro's founder is an inbred worthless POS!! Doesn't matter what his political views are. And I doubt that he is Democrat, seeing how the Democratic states are the ones voting in Gay Marriage!!
  • o
    Sonny
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    I wouldn't care if its founder was a distant nephew of King Tut!...That has absolutely nothing to do with the damage and terror that this group is inflicting on grieving families. So no, its not "worth noting"---and not important.
  • Jeff_Woehrle
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    @Sonny For something 'not important,' it sure concerns you.

    Let's let this be a lesson. This 'church' is NOT based on Conservative values and was NOT founded by a Conservative.

    You are welcome!
  • PoliticalSpice
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    Having read your post in the past, I don't believe anything you say. Indeed, I take your statement as circumstantial evidence the founder is a republican, or considers himself a conservative.
  • Jeff_Woehrle
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    @PoliticalSpice Color me wholly unconcerned about what you believe.

    However, I do consider this a teachable moment. For that, you are welcome!

  • View all 35 replies >

  • PoliticalSpice
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    God bless these particular hackers and everyone who signed the petition to investigate the tax status of this particular "church."
  • Art
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    WhileI disagree with many of WBC actions, it is a church and in entitled to tax break.
    It is the godless liberalism that is sweeping our land and the failure of churches to speak out against sin, the removal of God from our schools and the public square that is at the root of our problems.
    The preachers--the few of them that have the guts to preach against sin--know that I speak the truth. We as a nation is drifting in the same direction that Israel drifted about 2,700 years ago. God had his prophets that told them what they needed to do, but the governing powers had other ideals and their ideals cost the Jews their country and they didn't have an inch of land to call home until 1948.
    I saw a lady on t.v. talking about being fearful of her mentally ill son and she remarked that he liked Harry Potter. She has good reason to fear for her life. The rock stars, rap artists, witchcraft practioners, et al, are prophets and ministers of Satan and he is the chief merchant of death.
    We don't gun control and attacks on churches. We need preachers with some backbone and the judges and politicans need to honor the Constitution for its denial of authority to prohibit the practice of religion. When he had prayer in our schools, students at least was taugh that murder was wrong, a sin, and unacceptable. Now our children is fed a study diet of killing and vice on t.v. and the silver screen.
  • o
    Sonny
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    Oh...so this "church's" (and I use that word very loosely) intimidation and nasty tactics are supposed to make us less "godless"?!? I think not...Instead of preaching here---why not call up some of your fellow church goers at WBC and ask them not to terrorize people and intimidate those poor suffering families in NewTown...
  • jessejaymes
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    I hope the moderator understands my disbelief and that my response is based in that rather than just trying to personally insult. I cannot find words to describe my disbelief that someone can say "i disagree with many of WBC's actions but it is a church". It is not a church and any self respecting Christian should and does disavow them as non Christians. The Southern Baptist convention has disavowed them. They are a family and married into the family and nothing more. A bunch of sociopathic crazies. I can't find the words to describe my disbelief that you can find the words to support them and that's exactly what you are doing.
  • DARSB
    !
    "WhileI disagree with many of WBC actions, it is a church and in entitled to tax break.". No church is "entitled" to a tax break. The tax exemption must be applied for by a qualifying organization that agrees to the stipulations, one of which is to refrain from political speech from the pulpit.

  • View all 40 replies >

  • Romney2012
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    This is not a church, it is more of a hate group (a cult if you will), real Christians don't base their religion off of hate, so don't beleive for a second that they represent God, it is about ego to them!
  • DARSB
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    A buddy on another form offers this perspective - call them assholes. "Hate groups" can always find supporters, but nobody likes an asshole.
  • wangotango
    !
    The Westboro church members don't represent what a true Christian is suppose to be and may they all burn in hell for what they are doing...they don't represent forgiveness and love in no shape form or fashion.....
  • u
    Cheenoguy
    !
    And we have the right to petition to have them officially recognized as the hate group that they are.
    I would also argue that if they sing praises about the death of these children at one of the funerals of these children I support the right of the family to send them to their maker.
  • bsking
    !
    it wont do any good. they have very talented lawyers,who have won at the supreme court.
    hacking them probably just feeds into their poison. they will take their revenge on the innocent people of newtown..thanks in part to these hackers.
  • u
    melevy
    !
    "they will take their revenge on the innocent people of newtown" They already are. What else can they do? If they step outside the protection of the First Amendment, they'll get slapped real good. There are a lot of people just waiting for them to slip up.

    I say, ROCK ON, ANONYMOUS!
  • PayThatCEO
    !
    @bsking

    All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.
    Thomas Jefferson
  • u
    melevy
    !
    @bsking Normally, no. However, in the case of the WBC, the SCOTUS in it's occasionally infinitesimal wisdom has OK'd their projecting their message of hate at funerals. That they have so little respect for the families of of the MURDERED children at Sandy Hook, the only response can be vigilantism.

    WBC is a hate group, they hide behind the illusion that they are a "church."

  • View all 7 replies >

  • o
    PattyD
    !
    Im laughing at these comments! I don't consider myself Christian but how can you announce this so- called church is not a church and than announce they are not Christians and they are going to hell?? I hope you don't claim to be Christian either!
    " you will be measured by the same standard of measure!"
  • Sillpchs
    !
    I strongly condemn both the hacking...and especially the picketing. But it comes along with freedom of speech, the only person doing anything against the law would be the hacker. I guess we can group it in with those people who picket military funerals. I find it disgraceful and personally unAmerican, but if you feel that way then go ahead and say what you want. A few may agree with what you have to say, but if it's morally wrong then others will realize it and not support you. "I may not agree with what you have to say but will defend to the death your right to say it."
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