A fundraiser for Stormy Daniels has raised more than $1 million to help her relocate to a safer home and afford legal fees as she deals with the aftermath of testifying against former President Donald Trump.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was the key witness in Trump's hush money trial in which a jury ultimately convicted the Republican presidential front-runner on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors argued he paid Daniels, an adult film star, $130,000 ahead of the 2016 presidential election to keep quiet about a brief affair the two had a decade prior, and then recorded the payment as legal expenses.
But since the May verdict, Daniels has faced "countless death threats" alongside mounting court fees to fight the former president's continued legal actions against her, according to Dwayne Crawford, Daniels' friend and former manager who started the GoFundMe.
On the GoFundMe page titled "I Stand with Stormy Daniels #WeAreAllStormy," Crawford states he started the campaign because he wants to help Daniels move, and that her home has become unsafe since her address was leaked, leading to her horses allegedly being shot twice by protesters, and paparazzi repeatedly on the premises. He also said Daniels has been "forced to choose between protecting her innocent child and being held in contempt of court" after a court required she provide the minor's personal information.
"Stormy needs help to relocate her family to somewhere they can feel safe and live life on their terms," Crawford wrote on the GoFundMe. "She needs assistance to be able to continue to pay the mounting court fees so that Trump doesn’t just win because his pocketbook seems endless."
Daniels echoed the sentiments in an interview on MSNBC this week, saying she's been subject to harassment from strangers threatening to rape and murder her daughter and other relatives since her testimony. She also told host Rachel Maddow that she can't afford to pay the $500,000 she owes in legal fees.
Related: Trump's lawyers ask judge to set aside his conviction, citing Supreme Court's immunity ruling
But in an update on the GoFundMe Monday, a message from Daniels states her refusal "to back down or give a penny for telling the truth" has been rewarded.
"I have been given the greatest gift because those attorney fees are NOT coming from me! Complete strangers have generously come together in a powerful stance and donated to cover it instead," she wrote.
Daniels said she couldn't believe the "outpouring" of support — now sitting at more than $1 million from 19,500 donors — that came from "'regular' people giving what they could," not just support from "a few wealthy contributors, outspoken celebrities, political activists or organizations." She thanked her supporters and said that after her legal fees are satisfied, the rest of the funds will be used to help her relocate to a "safe place."
"Thank you will never be enough but...THANK YOU!" Daniels said.
