Supporters of the man accused of the Christchurch massacre are angry he will no longer be allowed to send or receive mail.
On Wednesday, Newshub revealed Brenton Tarrant had sent a six-page letter to a man in Russia from Auckland Prison, where he is being held in solitary confinement facing 51 charges of murder.
The following day Corrections admitted he has in fact sent out seven letters during his incarceration, five of which were responses to international fanmail.
Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis announced Tarrant's mail privileges have been suspended for the foreseeable future in light of what he called a process failure and "mistake".
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In response, enraged users on the imageboard website 4chan have suggested bombarding the prison with messages demanding his privileges be reinstated.
4chan, which lets users post anonymously in unmoderated threads, has become a haven for white supremacists and the 'alt-right' movement.
Tarrant's letter to Russia was posted on the notorious /pol/ thread, a place where supporters frequently express their admiration for the man they call 'Saint Tarrant'.
While many questioned the legitimacy of the letter when it was first posted on Tuesday, users are now rejoicing at being able to read his thoughts - and are furious that he won't be allowed to send any more.
"Tarrant should have talked about more important shit because this will be his only letter to the outside world," one user posted.
"We can't even have f**king penpals now?" another said.
A three-step plan of attack has been proposed, involving emailing the prison to protest Tarrant's mail ban, starting online petitions and asking his lawyer how to get messages to him.
Several users have posted the contact details for Tarrant's lawyer, Shane Tait, encouraging others to call or send messages about the mail ban. Tait's office told Newshub they have received no such messages so far.
One user has invited the thread to send them their questions for Tarrant, which they've volunteered to include in a single piece of mail, "rather than bombard him with letters as may have already happened".
There are calls to send Tarrant "happy /pol/ memes" to add colour to the "otherwise grey cell" he mentioned in his letter. Other suggestions include sending him a PS4 - a gift unlikely to make it into the prison. A "save Tarrant fund" has also been proposed.
Corrections has been roundly criticised for allowing Tarrant to send letters from prison, particularly the five that were posted to unknown locations around the world. Many are concerned that his correspondence could be interpreted as a call to action by other white supremacists.
There have already been several deadly copycat shootings since March 15, with multiple suspects citing Tarrant as their inspiration.
There are fears among 4chan users that the scandal will result in the website being taken offline, the same fate that befell its counterpart 8chan after the back-to-back shootings in Texas and Ohio.
"This site won't last another month at this rate," one user has predicted.
"F**king hell I just want to post dumb shit anonymously," remarked another.
Newshub.
