The hacktivist group Anonymous is going after Westboro Baptist Church after members of the Topeka, Kan., religious hate group announced plans to protest at Sandy Hook Elementary School after the massacre that claimed the lives of 28 people, including 20 children. The group said it would picket in order “to sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment.”

Cue Anonymous.

Led by former Truthdigger of the Week @KYAnonymous, the hacktivist collective responded by posting a trove of private information belonging to group members on the Internet.

CNET:

As part of a campaign dubbed #OpWestBoro, KY Anonymous said yesterday it posted the personal information belonging to members of the extremist organization, which is best known for conducting protests designed to disrupt the funerals of members of the military killed in action. The data dump included the names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and physical addresses of dozens of alleged members of the religious organization. The group did not indicate where or how it acquired the data.

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Along with the data, the group posted a video in which it promised to “destroy” the church organization. According to the video statement:

From the time you have received this message, our attack protocol has past been executed and your downfall is underway. Do not attempt to delude yourselves into thinking you can escape our reach, for we are everywhere, and all-seeing, in the same sense as God. We are a body of individuals who fight for a purpose higher than self, and seek to bring the malevolent intent of the malefactors to light.

We will not allow you to corrupt the minds of America with your seeds of hatred. We will not allow you to inspire aggression to the social factions which you deem inferior. We will render you obsolete. We will destroy you. We are coming.

The message from Anonymous to WBC is loud and clear: It’s on.

Meantime, hackers over at UGNazi have hijacked the Twitter feed belonging to Westboro Baptist spokeswoman Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of the church’s founder, Fred Phelps.

Among the things that the church’s Twitter account links to is this petition on the White House’s “We the People” site to have WBC legally recognized as a hate group. In the three days since it was posted, more than 100,000 people have signed the petition, well over the amount needed to elicit an official White House response.

— Posted by Tracy Bloom.

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#anonymous#connecticut school shooting#hacktivism#newtown shooting#religion#sandy hook massacre#westboro baptist church