14 DAY TRIAL // Anonymous has launched an operation against the city of Orlando after members of a charity feeding homeless people started being arrested by the authorities.
In 2006, following complaints that mass feedings held in parks were disruptive, the city issued an ordinance that requires groups who wish to organize such events to obtain permits.
The ordinance limits the number of permits that one group can obtain per year, as well as the number of people who can be fed at one gathering.
A charity called Food Not Bombs that distributes free vegan meals challenged the ordinance in court, but despite a favorable initial ruling which held that feeding the poor is a form of free speech, the court of appeals ruled that the city is entitled to impose limits.
Because Food Not Bombs continued to feed homeless people despite exhausting its permits, its members started being arrested. Anonymous has launched a campaign in support of the organization which involves organizing real life protests and attacking city-related websites.
"The City of Orlando has ignored our warnings, and our generous offer of a cease fire. On Wednesday last you not only arrested two more people for feeding but you arrested the worldwide President of Food Not Bombs Keith Mchenry. This is a declaration of war," the hacktivist collective wrote in an open letter.
Anonymous vowed to launch DDoS attacks against new targets every day and email millions of people about its Boycott Orlando campaign in an attempt to affect tourism.
The group started its attacks with www.orlandofloridaguide.com which was down for several hours on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it targeted the Lodge 25 of the Fraternal Order of Police and the campaign website of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. In fact, the group plans to keep Dyer's website offline throughout the entire operation.