Rancho Mirage Website Hacked In SOPA Protest

Supporters of the Occupy movement, which has spread across the country and the Coachella Valley, claimed responsibility for defacing the home page for the city Of Rancho Mirage’s website Tuesday morning.

The message, posted by Anonymous, was first spotted by a Twitter follower of a local newspaper Monday night, and it was still there at 7:40 a.m. Tuesday.

The webpage was finally returned to normal by 10 a.m., said Rancho Mirage City Attorney Steve Quintanilla.

“Yes, it was hacked – or it was described by the city’s IT person as ‘defaced,'” he said. “I gather it is like defacing public property.”

He said the group replaced the menu of services visitors normally see with a message supporting the Occupy protesters. It also denounced the federal government and a very controversial piece of legislation in Washington designed to crack down on internet piracy.

The Stop Online Piracy Act currently faces an uphill battle to passage after the White House’s cyber security chief pointed out several pitfalls with the way its currently written.

Others point to the possible censorship of news organizations online if SOPA is approved, as any site could be “blacklisted” for possibly engaging in “questionable actions” online.

On Wednesday, a nationwide movement will turn some websites dark for 24 hours in protest of some of the aspects of the proposed legislation.

Political watchers estimate the bill won’t come up for a vote until sometime in February.