Members of the Westboro Baptist Church have openly announced their intentions to picket the funerals of Lafayette , Louisiana Grand Theater shooting victims Mayci Breaux, 21, and Jillian Johnson, 33, via the controversial organization’s Twitter account.
Mayci Breaux, 21, and 33-year-old Jillian Johnson have been identified as the two victims killed in the Thursday massacre. Nine other people were injured during a Thursday night screening of Trainwreck , per Daily Mail.
Web accounts for shooter John Russel Houser link him to the extremist Christian Westboro Baptist Church ,
The Westboro Baptist Church may be the last real church in America[members not brainwashed].
— john russell houser (@jrustyhouser) June 5, 2013
Westboro Baptist Church members lauded the shootings.
The Westboro Baptist Church claimed on Friday that Rusty, the “#Lafayette shooter,” was not a member of their organization.
The gunman, known by the nickname “Rusty,” wrote the following and posted his words in December, 2013 to the Fellowship of the Minds, a supposed faith-based website.
“America is so sick that I now believe it to be the enemy of the world,” posted Houser. “I know next to nothing about Iran, but the little I do tell me they are far higher morally than this financially failing filth farm.”
Then there is the following quote from a Facebook post , where the 59-year-old assailant professes a need to “obey” the Bible. He simultaneously professes his extreme distaste with the United States.
“The bible doesn’t ask me to like what it says, only to obey it,” Houser wrote on Facebook. “Death comes soon to the financially failing filth farm called the U.S.”
The derogatory term for the U.S. created by the shooter, “financially failing filth farm,” appears throughout several of his posts.
The victims , according to Louisiana State Police, per WBRZ, are 21-year-old Mayci Breaux of Franklin, LA, who died at the scene, and 33-year-old Jillian Johnson of Lafayette, who died from her injuries at a Lafayette area hospital.
As reported by KATC.com, Johnson was a local business owner who founded River Ranch boutique, Red Arrow Workshop and Parish Ink, an apparel store with locations in River Ranch, Downtown Lafayette and New Orleans. She was locally known as lead singer of Lafayette all-female band, The Figs.
Breaux’s Facebook page said she was an LSU student in Eunice, LA. She graduated from Hanson Memorial High. Her father is a sugar cane farmer, and she was a 2014 finalist in the Louisiana Sugar Cane beauty contest .
Shocked and outraged by the loss of life and injuries, prayers and condolences poured in across social media outlets for the victims and their families.
My heart and prayers go out to the families and victims of the shooting in Lafayette, LA. I have many friends and memories there.
— Ted DiBiase (@MDMTedDiBiase) July 24, 2015
Amy Schumer, star of the movie Trainwreck , reacted via Twitter to the news that this tragedy occurred during a screening of her movie as previously reported by the Inquisitr .
The shootings spawned a series of gun control questions.
Prayers 4 victims/folks in #Lafayette shooting. My fam & I were just in a theatre 2nite. Do we have 2 wear bulletproof vests 2C movie now?
— Ming-Na Wen (@MingNa) July 24, 2015
Once the news of Westboro Baptist Church members planning to protest, Twitter users were quick to proclaim their desires to protect mourning families.
Just made plans 2 attend the memorial 2 protect the fam of Lafayette victims from Westboro picketing! Come on out! https://t.co/CDGEcqoink
— Amber ? Nicole (@Cajun_Conserv) July 24, 2015
One Twitter user welcomed Donald Trump to come and help Lafayette residents dissuade Westboro Baptist Church protesters.
@realDonaldTrump The Westboro Baptist crazies are coming down to the funerals here in #Lafayette , you’re welcome to help us give em hell!
— Andrew (@SidelineBrawl) July 24, 2015
Tensions are high and rising over the WBC’s offensive tweets. Now, with the Westboro Baptist Church already on the offensive and ready to come to this quiet Louisiana community and protest the funerals of innocent victims, Louisiana residents have pledged to stand in line to defend the honor of these young women.
[Photos by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images and courtesy WBRZ ]
