Westboro Baptist Church threatened to picket funerals of Charleston victims. Big mistake

The Westboro Baptist Church has been served a warning by hacktivist group Anonymous after threatening to picket the funerals of the nine people who were shot dead in Charleston last week.

The church group (formerly led by hate preacher Fred Phelps and his immediate family) regularly grab headlines for spewing warped religious ramblings at those in mourning, often claiming that deceased soldiers are killed because "god hates fags".

In several messages on Twitter this past week, Westboro has even claimed that Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old charged with the massacre in South Carolina, was sent by God.

And while Anonymous has targeted the group several times in the past, they have decided to ramp up the pressure in light of Westboro's threats this week.

In a statement released online, the hackers vowed to "entirely" destroy Wesboro's cyber infrastructure and to work "on the ground" to peacefully prevent protesters getting near any of the funerals:

This sustained campaign against the Westboro Baptist Church will continue until all the funerals in Charleston, South Carolina are finished.

Anonymous calls upon all Anons, allied crews, hacktivists and supporters worldwide to join with us in attacking every known cyber asset of the WBC.

The group says it will be sharing intelligence about the movements of Westboro protesters via the hashtag #TrackWBC and is posting successes of its cyber-attacks via the hashtag #OpShutDownWBC.

To the grieving people of Charleston, South Carolina: we ask that you put these hateful people from your mind entirely. Anonymous has this for you.

We know how to deal with these animals, and we will do so. Forget them. Let us handle this for you as our gift of condolence for your unspeakable loss.

More: Police officers high five in video footage of Dylann Roof arrest