AnonNews, a website affiliated with the activities of the infamous hacktivist group known as “Anonymous” posted a threatening letter to the Westboro Baptist Church last Wednesday.
The letter threatened a cyber-attack against the Topeka, Kansas church if it refuses to stop contentious military funeral and gay protests.
“We will target your public websites and the propaganda and detestable doctrine that you promote will be eradicated; the damage incurred will be irreversible, and neither your institution nor your congregation will ever be able to fully recover,” the letter read.
Westboro’s response: Bring it.
“God hates fags & lousy hackers!” said Westboro’s Saturday press release. They stated that Anonymous was “warring with God; very stupid for little boys claiming to be so smart,” and calling them “coward crybaby hackers.”
AnonNews posted another letter claiming the first letter didn’t represent the views of the hackers.
CBS reported that the group said it had “more pressing matters to deal with at the moment.”
Although the details of the pressing matters weren’t discussed, Anonymous has claimed to be working on “Operation Iran” and aiding in protests raging throughout the Middle East, most notably shutting down the government websites of Tunisia and Egypt.
The letter accused Westboro of fabricating the story to generate headlines and spread its message, according to CBS.
“When Anonymous says we support free speech, we mean it,” the release read. “We count Beatrice Hall among our Anonymous forebears: ‘I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.'”
The question is which letter to believe, the threat or the denial?
An online activist with close ties to Anonymous said, “There’s no membership or hierarchy [in the group] the level of involvement you choose is up to you.” He said that when operations are organized and run by people within Anonymous, “It’s not accurate to say that all of Anonymous is responsible.”