GoFundMe to support Kavanaugh's accuser surpasses goal in several hours and is still going strong

It's been a nightmarish week for Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who recently accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, but there's also been a big outpouring of support for her after she decided to publicly share her story.

Over the summer, Blasey — a professor at California's Palo Alto University — wrote a confidential letter to senior Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein claiming Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her more than 30 years ago when she was in high school. (Blasey is sometimes referred to by her married name of Ford.)

After making the difficult decision to publicly come forward, Blasey has been questioned and ridiculed by many, including Donald Trump Jr.. After receiving a number of death threats, she and her family had to vacate their residence and arrange for private security. A GoFundMe page was set up Tuesday to financially assist Blasey and her family in protecting themselves, and it met its goal of $50,000 within just four hours.

The online fundraiser was created by Heidi Feldman, a professor of law at Georgetown University who does not know Blasey personally, with hopes of helping cover her security expenses and "make it easier for women in her position to come forward despite great risks."

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

So many donations came in that the goal was raised several times before being paused after reaching $50,000 in four hours. After speaking with Blasey's representatives about the extent of her security and other hearing-related related costs, Feldman reopened donations and set a new goal of $100,000.

As of this writing, in the 16 hours since the campaign was launched, nearly 2,300 people had donated more than $72,000 to help support Blasey.

Prior to the sexual assault accusation, Kavanaugh's nomination had already received a great deal of pushback from Democrats and those who feel he could negatively impact the rights of women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

Though a new Senate hearing on the accusation was scheduled for Monday, Blasey has requested an FBI investigation be done before she testifies but left open the possibility that she might appear before the committee.