Extremists from the Westboro Baptist Church have threatened to protest at the funerals of the nine people killed in last week's mass shooting in Charleston.
The organisation has described the dead at Emanuel AME Church as "Satan's boyz" and warned on social networking site Twitter it would attempt to picket the funerals.
It claimed online that God sent shooter Dylann Roof, who killed the pastor Revd Clementa Pinckney, Cynthia Hurd, 54, Revd Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 45, Tywanza Sanders, 26, Ethel Lance, 70, Revd Depayne Middleton-Doctor, 49, Susie Jackson, 87, Revd Daniel Simmons Sr, 74 and Myra Thompson, 59.
The White House has confirmed US President Barack Obama will attend the funeral of Revd Pinckney on Friday.
A number of people have also promised on social media to form a 'human barrier' around the funerals to prevent Westboro getting close to the events.
Elsewhere the hacking group Anonymous has pledged to take down the computer systems of Westboro in response to the threat.
In a statement the activists said they would "entirely" destroy the organisations online presence.
Westboro Baptist Church is based in Kansas and has around 50 members. It has found fame through picketing the funerals of soldiers or other notable people.
A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference
In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.
Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.
For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.
Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.
Support Us
