A hate group identified as The Official Street Preachers held a demonstration outside a Columbus mosque on Friday afternoon, drawing a counter-protest of around 50 people.
Ten members of the Los Angeles-based Official Street Preachers, identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, held signs and shouted Islamophobic and homophobic slurs outside Masjid Omar mosque.
"We love Donald Trump, you wicked devil," shouted one protester, who held up a sign saying, "Homos and Muslims go to hell."
Another protester's sign, however, read, "Lukewarm Christians like Trump will burn in hell with all liberals. Repent and obey Jesus."
The Christian organization Peace Catalyst Columbus organized a counter-protest, with plans to form a "silent line of protection" around the mosque during Friday prayers.
"They were defiling Islam, just blatantly trying to find the most radical things they could say about Islam," said Rebecca Brown of Peace Catalyst Columbus, a Christian group. "But also very confrontational and aggressive towards those of us who were trying to be peacefully present."
Brown said the protest started around 12:45 and lasted for around two hours. Members of the hate group also directed their anger toward the counter-protesters, she said.
The mosque director invited counter-protesters inside and thanked them, at which point the hate group left.
Ruben Israel, leader of the Official Street Preachers, announced on Facebook that his group would be protesting in Columbus and Cincinnati this weekend from "an abortion mill, campus, Mosque, sporting events and of course the drunken Oktoberfest."
