Marriage amendment group says Facebook account hacked

Minnesota for Marriage claimed that someone hacked into its Facebook account overnight and posted Bible versus that 'caused a storm.'

June 27, 2012 at 8:16PM

Minnesota for Marriage, the group pushing a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, claimed Wednesday that someone hacked into its Facebook account overnight.

"We got hacked and somebody put some (Bible) verses up there that caused a storm," said Chuck Darrell, a spokesman for the group.

The alleged hacker posted a passage from Leviticus that said men in same-sex relationships should be put to death.

The post was up nearly 12 hours before it was removed and replaced with an apology around 1:30 p.m.

"We apologize for the confusion with the false posts from earlier," the statement read. "We continue to stand strong against those who preach tolerance but do not practice it."

Darrell said the campaign is working with Facebook to identify the hacker. He said they plan to prosecute the suspect once identified.

Catholic Marriage Matters MN, another amendment supporter, alleged it was similarly hacked. It posted an apology similar to the one from Minnesota for Marriage.

Darrell said the group has never espoused the views of the erroneous posts. People are trying to step in and stifle the dialogue, he said.

"For 12 months, out message has always been pro-family and pro-children, very respectful," Darrell said.

The alleged hacking occurred the same day Minnesota for Marriage launched a boycott of General Mills, which announced it was opposed to the marriage amendment.

about the writer

Baird Helgeson

Deputy editor

Baird Helgeson is deputy local editor at the Star Tribune. He helps supervise coverage of local news. Before becoming an editor, he was an award-winning reporter who covered state government and politics. He has worked for news organizations in Minnesota, Florida and North Dakota.

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