A woman who went viral after she was videotaped in a confrontation for using a racial slur against a child has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars online, which she claimed she now needs to relocate for her family’s safety.
While some may have donated to get her out of the community, others defended her actions in their replies to the fundraiser.
Shiloh Hendrix was videotaped as a man confronted her about using the slur against a child at Soldiers Field Memorial Park in Rochester, Minnesota. She laughed and stuck her tongue at him as she carried her own child on her hip.
Hendrix defended her actions and told the man that the child had stolen her kid’s diaper bag. When told the language she was using was “hate speech,” the woman responded that she didn’t “give a s***.”
The man said: “We’ll see about that, what the internet has to say about you.”
He added: “I have never seen anybody be a racist to a child on the spectrum of autism. Today, this is her.”
It’s unclear exactly when the footage was taken.
Civil rights leaders condemned the woman for using the slur, even as her GiveSendGo fundraiser amassed $300,000 since Thursday.
Hendrix identified herself on the fundraiser page as the woman in the video. She said she created the fundraiser, which she entitled “Help Me Protect My Family,” after she claimed her personal information, including her address and Social Security number, had been leaked.
Additionally, the woman said she had received online threats.
“I fear that we must relocate,” Hendrix wrote. “We have been threatened to the extreme by people online. Anything will help! We cannot, and will not live in fear!”
The mother again defended her actions, saying: “I called the kid out for what he was.”
Some who donated said in the comments section that they were defending the white race and free speech.
Others advised her to use the money toward legal fees.
“We are all fatigued and know that rather than changing their behavior, minorities insist on trying to police our words,” said Elijah Schaffer, who donated $650.
In a written statement, the Rochester Police Department said it is aware of the video and has received multiple calls related to it.
“We are gathering information and actively looking into the matter,” a department spokesperson told Newsweek.
