On Tuesday, Mar. 2, the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) made itself known in Richmond through appearances at the Richmond Holocaust Museum, Hermitage High School and several other locations around the city. Only four members of the church participated in the protests, one of whom was an 11-year-old boy.

One of the places first targeted by the WBC was the Richmond Holocaust Museum, where they started protesting around noon on Tuesday morning.

"When we heard they were coming we were initially distressed, however, we firmly believed we needed to do something and we were able to put together a counter-rally of about 400 people," Simon Sibelman, assistant executive director of the Virginia Holocaust Museum, said. "It was a very teachable moment."

Jay Ipson, the executive director and president of the museum, invited the protesters inside. They refused and continued yelling profanities as well as chanting to the tune of many old Jewish songs. "They were singing to the tune of Israel’s national anthem, ‘Hatikvah,’ which means hope," Sibelman said.

"They are seeking attention by being sophomoric little children—that is their mindset; they are obnoxious, hate filled people," he added.

Some of the other locations, such as the Jerusalem Connection, Weinstein Jewish Community Center and Hermitage High School, which were also targeted by the Westboro Baptist Church, chose not to hold counter protests. Instead, hundreds of people showed up for an "anti-hate" rally coordinated by those organizations outside of the Virginia Commonwealth University student commons.

The Church targeted Hermitage High School because of the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) sponsored by the student body. The GSA provides support and fosters a peaceful environment between gay and straight students.

While the students were asked not to participate in any counter protesting, Haley Bohmer, president of the GSA at Hermitage, wrote to the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

"Though the school has officially asked that no counter protests be staged, the students have decided that we’re going to ignore that and continue on with our plans to peacefully represent the Henrico community," she said.

Even some students from Hanover attended the protest at Hermitage.

"There were lots of cops," senior Rachel Pruett said. "There were about 90 of us and four of them [the WBC protesters] so they left pretty quick; it only lasted about 10 minutes."

In contrast to the WBC’s signs reading, "God Hates Dead Soldiers," and other anti-gay and anti-Semitic shibboleth, the students brought humorous posters to show their support for the community, some of which read, "God Hates Bowties," "This Sign Is Neon" and "I Use Band-Aids."

"I especially liked one that said, ‘God doesn’t hate!’ I felt like it really represented what the entire protest was about," Pruett said.

Senior MC Geyer was also planning on attending the protest. While she was unable to go, she commented on the events as well.

"It makes me sad that people find the need to be so passionate about their hate, and especially when that hate manifests itself in their children," she stated.

Other organizations have opted to raise funds to donate to both gay and Jewish community organizations. Pennies in Protest, a Richmond group calling for donations to the targets of the WBC’s anti-gay and anti-Semitic protests, has raised $11,246 in online donations alone. The group is planning to write a thank-you note to the WBC later this month.

"We are overall very proud of what we did; it was a moment in which we were able to teach tolerance through education and make a statement that hate has no place in Richmond," Sibelman concluded.