This post was written by Hatchet reporter Nathaniel Erwin

The Mount Vernon Campus will see bulked up security Friday in anticipation of the Westboro Baptist Church protest.

University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said both campus police and Metropolitan Police Department officers will head to the Vern for the 4 p.m. demonstration.

MPD spokesman Hugh Carew declined to comment on how many officers would be stationed at the 2100 Foxhall Rd. campus.

The Kansas-based extremist group announced last week it would picket on the “demon-possessed” campus, prompting two students just hours later to organize an LGBT pride rally.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church also demonstrated at Alabama University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Central Florida and Vassar College this year.

More than 250 students have signed up for a nonviolent counterprotest.