WBC has been involved in actions against gay people since 1989, when it sought a crackdown on homosexual activity at Gage Park near its headquarters. In addition to conducting anti-gay protests at military funerals, the organization pickets celebrity funerals and public events. Protests have also been held against Jews, Mormons, and Catholics. Many protests have included WBC members defacing the American flag, flying the flag upside down on a flagpole, and holding protest signs with inflammatory statements; the most notable of which being "God hates fags" and "Thank God for dead soldiers". WBC is monitored as such by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center, and has faced accusations of brainwashing.