News - Claiming that 'Michael Wacko Jacko Jackson is in hell', members of the Westboro Baptist Church, led by pastor Fred Phelps, have announced plans to picket the funeral of Michael Jackson.

Following a private funeral service, a memorial service for Michael Jackson will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, 10am (LA time), and broadcast worldwide to an estimated 3 billion viewers from 6pm (UK time).

The church, known to picket the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq and AIDS victims, claim that victims were killed by God as a punishment for homosexuality. In addition to a number of anti-Jewish protests this week, they have announced their plans to picket outside the Staples Center today:

"We will be there to tell you to Thank God for the death of this filthy, adulterous, idolatrous, gender-confused, nationality-confused, unthankful brute beast. We will be there to remind you that God Killed Wacko Jacko. There is a God, and a Day of Judgment. For you to wallow and murmur against God for his righteous Judgments is sin and will cause YOU to join Michael in hell. Stop that! Stop telling us how you will kill us, and destroy God, and STOP worshiping this silly human. God will destroy you for all of these words you speak against your own interest! Save your money, stay away from that goofy place if you care about your never-dying souls. Each penny you spend to try to buy your way into that event will burn your flesh throughout all of eternity. Be thankful that God has not already killed you because like that Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar realized after 7 years of being cursed as a crazy wild man because he did not give God the glory warns."

Phelps and his daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper are banned from entering the UK due to their extremist views.