A small group with a message of hate arrived in Orlando on Saturday with plans to disrupt the funeral of a Pulse shooting victim. However, those plans failed because the group was far outnumbered.
The protesters appeared as a Pulse shooting victim was being laid to rest, forcing Orlando Police to shut down part of Orange Avenue and Jefferson Street.
Channel 9 is not reporting where the handful of demonstrators were from, is not showing their signs and not repeating their hateful message.
Members of Orlando's LGBT community and their friends, family and allies showed up in force to block the message of hate and ensure that the funeral was not disturbed.
>> Read more about the Orlando nightclub shooting
"They can't stop us," community supporter Angel Vaszquez said. "We're here. The love is here, and we're gonna keep spreading the love."
Authorities stayed in the middle of the street to make sure nothing ever got out of hand.
"I have a lot of respect for (police)," community supporter Adam Vaszquez said. "Just to imagine what they had to go through last week, having to pull those people out of that nightclub. Yeah, I have a lot of respect for OPD, and I always have."
The situation apparently became so uncomfortable for the protesters that they turned around and exited the area, drawing a huge cheer from the crowd.
LGBT support groups told Channel 9 that if the hate group plans to appear anywhere else, there are systems in place to get another counter-protest quickly organized.
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