Church to protest at Tacoma funeral

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TACOMA, Wash., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- A small anti-gay Kansas congregation intends to picket the Tacoma, Wash., funeral of two young brothers and Occupy activists say they plan a counter-protest.

The Westboro Baptist Church, notorious for its stance that tolerance of homosexuality is the cause of God's anger with America, will be present at the Saturday memorial service for Charlie and Braden Powell, the young brothers killed when their father, suspected in his wife's 2009 disappearance, burned down their home this week, a Twitter post from Maggie Phelps, daughter of the church's pastor, said. A later Twitter comment from Phelps referenced the state of Washington's pending legalization of same-sex marriage, expected to be signed by the governor next week.

"This is why God's cursed you w Josh Powells blowing up kids," her message read.

The group Occupy Seattle is using its Facebook page to mobilize a counter-protest, The (Tacoma) News Tribune reported Thursday, saying it would not disrupt the funeral but will attempt to "protect it from Westboro's abhorrent message."