Thirteen people have pleaded guilty to helping briefly disable online payment service provider Paypal as part of a protest that authorities say was organized by the hacking group Anonymous.

Ten of the defendants pleaded guilty Thursday to felony and misdemeanor charges of intentionally damaging a protected computer.

The U.S. Department of Justice plans to drop the felony charges, and the 10 people will be sentenced to probation a year from now if they stay out of legal trouble.

Three other defendants pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in San Jose federal court and face similar sentences.

Authorities say the 13 defendants acknowledged taking part in a protest organized by Anonymous in December 2010 after Paypal cut ties to the anti-secrecy website Wikileaks when it released more than 700,000 leaked government documents.

(AP)