When Belgian police asked for a social media blackout of their anti-terrorist operations over the weekend, they got what they wanted in the most Internet way possible –– the hashtag #BrusselsLockdown was quickly taken over by cat pictures.
Although Belgian police didn't want strategical information released about their hunt for the Paris attackers, they did ask social media users to "support" their hashtag. It quickly went viral, filling social media with more lolcats than one social media user said he had ever seen at once.
While some of the pictures were simply cats being cats, many feature cats being trapped or looking suspicious. My personal favorite featured two Star Wars stormtroopers riding cat-shaped hover scooters.
Belgian officials thanked social media users for their support during a press conference where they announced 16 arrests. Unfortunately, Paris fugitive Salah Abdeslam was not among those arrested. Those 16 people are set to appear before a judge today but it's unlikely that any cats will be present.