Anonymous 'Hacks' Westboro Baptist Church Facebook Page

Anonymous promised the Westboro Baptist Church it would do anything to stop the group from protesting the funerals of the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombing, and the Internet free speech collective made an intimidating first step Thursday: the activists "hacked" the Church's Facebook page, assuming their identity in a sardonic prank.

The WBC announced it would picket the funerals of bombing victims Wednesday, blaming the explosions on America's alleged indulgence of homosexuals and marriage equality.

"BREAKING: Westboro Baptist Church to picket funerals of those dead by Boston Bombs! GOD SENT THE BOMBS IN FURY OVER FAG MARRIAGE! #PraiseGod," the Kansas-based group tweeted.

"Massachusetts invited this special wrath from God Almighty when it was the first state to pass same-sex marriage on May 17, 2004," the group added.

In response, Anonymous declared that the Church had no chance of successfully protesting. "If #WBC protests the Boston funerals, they will have to expect us," tweeted Anonymous.

To further convince the WBC of its intentions, Anonymous parodied the Church through a flood of schadenfreude-speckled misinformation on its Facebook page.

"THE OFFICIAL WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH FACEBOOK PAGE YA'LL. Church Leaders; Marilyn Manson, Anonymous, and Captain Crunch," Anonymous wrote on the page's information section.

Of course, Anonymous didn't hack the WBC's Facebook page in the traditional sense. The group known for openly targeting the WBC actually created the page itself after the Church threatened to picket the funerals of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims back in December.

Characteristic of Anonymous' incisive yet irreverent pranks, the WBC's page is filled with numerous alternately inspirational and humorous images, such as kittens playing poker, and quotes from the likes of the Dalai Lama, all presented in stark contrast to the the infamously anti-gay, anti-Semitic group's views.

"We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness," wrote Anonymous in one post, quoting Thich Nhat Hanh.

Anonymous also posted a meme featuring a picture from "Star Trek," catching the attention of former series star George Takei who reposted the image to his fans, and created a viral sensation in the process. Under a picture from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" Anonymous wrote, "Jesus Loves Everybody. Expect Us."

This isn't the first time the hackers in Anonymous have actively antagonized the Westboro Baptist Church for its deplorable behavior.

When the Westboro Baptist Church promptly announced it would picket the funeral of Reddit and RSS co-creator Aaron Swartz after his suicide in January, the hacktivists in Anonymous scared the hate group enough to back down from protesting. Anonymous also revealed the personal information of numerous alleged members of the church in December, derailing the WBC's plan to picket the funerals of Sandy Hook School Shooting victims.

A White House petition to designate the Westboro Baptist Church as a hate group is "the most popular single petition ever created through the White House initiative," according to the Huffington Post. Since the petition was created Dec. 14, over 355, 000 individuals have now signed.

The Westboro Baptist Church is "arguably the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Anti-Defamation League is less explicit, but similarly agrees. The church is "a small virulently homophobic, anti-Semitic hate group," it says.