Westboro Baptist hacked for planned Sandy Hook protests
Twitter has suspended an account linked to Westboro Baptist Church, either for messages detailing the group’s plan to picket the funerals of those killed Friday in the Connecticut school shootings or because the account has been hacked by the group Anonymous.
The URL for Westboro’s Twitter feed only says the account of church spokesman Shirley Phelps-Roper has been suspended.
Phelps-Roper, hours after the shootings in Newtown, Conn., tweeted “‘Westboro will picket Sandy Hook Elementary School to sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment.”
Westboro Baptist, which has just a handful of members in Topeka, Kan., has been in the news before, of course. It first gained notoriety for anti-gay protests at the funerals of U.S. soldiers.
Anonymous hackers must have been displeased, reports are the group hacked the church’s website — godhatesfags.com — and took control of Phelps-Roper’s @DearShirley Twitter account.
Examiner.com reports the hack is the work of a 15-year-old who goes by the name CosmoTheGod. The California teen is already on probation for hacking NASDAQ, so he might want to enjoy the online accolades while he’s still allowed to look at a computer screen.
The hacking group had recently published private emails, home addresses, phone numbers and social security numbers of Westboro members.
The hackers also want the White House to declare Westboro a hate group. An online petition has 183,000 signatures in four days.
Slate says the urge to cheer for Anonymous should be contained.
“Westboro may be the closest thing to an embodiment of evil that we have handy,” writes Will Oremus, but the tiny church is “best ignored.”
Meanwhile, residents of Newtown, Conn., many of whom are preparing for the funerals of 20 children and six adults, have created a Facebook page where they are making plans to block church members from picketing near mourners.
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51 comments Add your comment
blackbird13
December 18th, 2012
6:05 pm
“They are the single bunch of insane’s who say they hate for christianity.”
That is far from the truth, though they might be one of the few to be totally honest about it and not hide behind euphemisms.
And yes, they have the right to free speech, but they do not have the right to say whatever they want AND work at the Kansas Dept. of Corrections, the Shawnee County Dept. of Corrections and the Topeka YMCA, to name a few of their employers. No where does such a right exist.
This just in breaking news! - Gun & Game - Gun Forum Community
December 18th, 2012
6:10 pm
[...] can be done SPOCAHP ANAR: Sir, seems a 15yr old boy is the Westboro Baptist hacked for planned Sandy Hook protests | News To Me with George Mathis Examiner.com reports the hack is the work of a 15-year-old who goes by the name CosmoTheGod. The [...]
Pellaz
December 18th, 2012
6:24 pm
The Westboro cult has the absolute right to express their opinions, and (to a point) protest near funerals on public rights-of-way….just as WE have the absolute right to ignore them. By giving them attention we empower them. Only by marginalizing their impact can they be stopped.
When they show up at a funeral, they should be surrounded by counterdemonstrators, all facing away from them and blocking them from view, holding up signs that read “The people behind us are idiots, but they have the right to protest here. Nothing to see here, move along!”
Kenneth Stepp
December 18th, 2012
6:50 pm
One word “Snipers”. Nuff said.
teaching taxpayer
December 18th, 2012
7:11 pm
If it turns out to be true that a 15-year-old who calls himself “CosmoTheGod” has hacked both Westboro and the NASDAQ, I want that youngster working in national security. I’d love to know, for example, exactly where Iran is on its nuclear program.
tex G
December 18th, 2012
7:28 pm
Dont despair, these fools will meet their bitter end.
Westboro Baptist rot in hell.
tex Ulyess
December 18th, 2012
7:30 pm
A disgrace to Baptists world wide. Stand up Baptists and condem these pukes
burndownthatchruch
December 18th, 2012
7:35 pm
Declare them a hate group? um..they ARE a hate group! I live very close to where those 2 little boys lived that were hacked with an axe then set on fire by their father, who alos died in the fire..anyway, westboro was going to picket their funeral supposedly because our governor supports gay marriage. well a big bad motorcycle gang sent word out that they were going to come up here and stand guard at the funeral and if westboro showed up they would not allow it. what happened? The motorcycle gang showed up and westboro backed out and didnt show up. How have they not been catagorized as a hate group? Thats what they are! Wake up whitehouse! wake up slimey fish! People like that, if thats what we call t hem these days, should not be allowed to harass greiving families. Period! someone burn down that church already!
Name (required)
December 18th, 2012
8:16 pm
Dear Westboro Baptist “Church” idiots,
If you love God as much as you claim to, why don’t you go live with Him? Now would be a good time.
Love,
Humanity
Its not guns its crazy people
December 18th, 2012
8:25 pm
They are not a church group –its a club using Baptist to be tax free.. Another Jim Jones cult…..baptist don’t believe in hate, killing…this cult is the devil just like the killer that killed the Children.
Put God back into schools and teach moral and character..Adam had no consience to tell him what was right and wrong. It was a game to him..kill kill like in the games and movies. Guns was not the problem..he could have used a bomb etc…This is a wake up call to christians and USA…this country is going to hell fast if it don’t change. I have a permit to carry because of the danger on the streets..they’re alot of crazy people out there…just watch the news everyday.